Exclusive: Blades trio linked with Leeds, Ken Bates reveals Published Date: 11 May 2010 By Richard Sutcliffe KEN BATES believes joining Leeds United will be an attractive proposition to the players Simon Grayson wants to sign ahead of next season's return to the Championship. The pair met for lunch yesterday to discuss the United manager's transfer plans in the wake of the nerve-jangling final day victory over Bristol Rovers.
Talks had already taken place over possible targets during the final few weeks of the season but promotion now means Leeds can step up their attempts to strengthen. Chairman Bates, who last night reaffirmed his determination to propel United back towards the Premier League, said: "Success is something to savour briefly but then the hard work and planning has to start again. That is what happened at Leeds United over the weekend. "We had a party on Saturday night but I was back working the day after and so were many others. Meetings continued on the Monday, including lunch between Simon and myself, while Shaun (Harvey) was at the Football League meeting representing Leeds as a Championship club. "Everyone at the club is committed to building on the success of winning promotion. "I had already held discussions with Simon (before yesterday) about next season but now promotion has been secured we can move forward. "A review of the squad has been made with regards who the club wants to keep, while transfer targets will be finalised. "There are a lot of players who want to play for Leeds but didn't want to play in League One. I can understand that. "But now we can look at the list again. Promotion means we can offer a better standard of football, while we will be operating with a different budget due to being a Championship club." United are understandably remaining tight-lipped about the identity of those on Grayson's wishlist but the Yorkshire Post understands Sheffield United's Nick Montgomery is highly rated at Elland Road. The Leeds-born midfielder is out-of-contract this summer and believed to be waiting to hear if the Blades are willing to make one last offer when chairman Kevin McCabe returns from a foreign trip later this month. Blades duo Chris Morgan and Billy Sharp have also been linked along with Scunthorpe United striker Gary Hooper. Leeds ended a three-season stay in League One last Saturday and the step up will be a major boost in terms of income for a club who have recorded a profit in each of the last two financial years, albeit in 2008-09 a surplus of £15,000 coming courtesy of player sales totalling £1.6m. Not only will the Elland Road coffers be swelled by increased funding from the Football League's television deal next season but also in terms of sponsorship and corporate income. Attendances are also likely to rise significantly in a division where there will be a host of Yorkshire derbies. Bates added: "To see 38,000 people as happy as they were on Saturday was a special day. The plan now is to build on it and have more success in the future. "Promotion makes a big difference to the income of the club but, just as importantly, it also marks a step back up the leagues. "Momentum can play a big part in football and it is why I liken Leeds United of a few years ago to an elephant in terms of it was hard to stop going in one direction. "Turning it around was never going to happen overnight, no matter what people think. "It has been a draining few months for everyone at the club but we got there in the end. "We are not going into the Championship to make up the numbers. "We are going up to make an impact, make no mistake about that." It is not only in terms of strengthening the squad and boosting the club's income where the impact of promotion is being felt at Elland Road, as Bates is quick to point out. "Promotion is a major step forward for Leeds United in so many ways, " he added. "For instance, we had a meeting on Monday to discuss the urgent need to extend the size of the concourse in the East Stand Upper. We had the area open on Saturday and people couldn't even get to the toilets due to it being narrow. That has to be changed if the area is to be open next season. "Issues like that may be quite boring to most supporters but it needs sorting out and being in the Championship will allow us to do that." Meanwhile, Jonny Howson has agreed a new one-year extension to his contract to keep the midfielder at Elland Road until the summer of 2012. _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist and the hardest time in a sailor's day is to watch the sun as it sails away
