Sporting director breaks silence on transfer decision that could bank Leeds United millions of pounds
Leeds United only sold Charlie Cresswell last summer but he's been tipped for another move already.
Toulouse sporting director Viktor Bezhani has refused to rule out the sale of Charlie Cresswell in a decision that could bank Leeds United millions of pounds.
Cresswell only joined Toulouse in a £3.8million deal last summer but has gone from strength to strength in France. The 22-year-old played 34 games across all competitions last season and scored four goals as his side finished 10th in Ligue 1.
Leeds academy graduate Cresswell then went on to play a central role as England Under-21s defended their UEFA U21 European Championship title in Slovakia, with his performances attracting plenty of interest. Serie A pair Atalanta and Como have both been linked with the centre-back while reports suggest he is on the radar of Premier League clubs.
Cresswell is one of several Toulouse players to be linked with a move away this summer alongside the likes of reported Aston Villa target Jaydee Canvot and Lyon-linked Yann Gboho. And instead of swatting away speculation over the future of his players, sporting director Bezhani has suggested offers will be considered.
"We are delighted by the amount of interest in our players,” he told L’Equipe. “It shows that we are doing good things and that the rest of Europe is watching us. It isn’t a secret, if a good offer arrives, we’ll have a look at it."
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It remains to be seen if interest in Cresswell will develop into anything further but reports of a £15-18m price-tag suggest his stock has risen significantly since leaving Leeds for around a quarter of that ballpark. Any move would likely see some extra cash head to Elland Road, however, which would be a welcome boost.
Charlie Cresswell transfer could bank Leeds United seven-figure windfall
When initial reports of interest in Cresswell emerged earlier this summer, the YEP reported on the presence of a sell-on clause in the deal that took him to Toulouse. It is understood the Whites would receive 15 per cent of any future profits the French side make on their centre-back.
In that instance, an £18m sale would see Toulouse initially bank a profit of £14.2m, and Leeds would be due to receive around £2.1m of that. That would essentially see their overall sale of Cresswell become worth just under £6m and as he rose through the academy, that is all profit from a Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) perspective.
And while that might still seem a little low, given his current price-tag appears to be more than double, it must be considered that Cresswell simply wasn’t going to be first-choice under Daniel Farke last season. Earlier that summer Leeds spent £10m to make Joe Rodon’s loan from Tottenham Hotspur permanent and the Welshman went on to play all but five minutes of Championship football.
Rodon and Pascal Struijk have since welcomed top-level competition to the centre-back role, with Leeds spending a combined £20m on Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw. Those purchases also played their part in the decision to let first-team fringe player Max Wober join Werder Bremen on loan for the upcoming campaign.