Thread by @GBEExpertHub

Why Leeds United scoff in the face of ESC slots

Since the ESC legislation coming in in 2023, Leeds Utd have only ever used one slot

Why is this the case? Could this change in future? Is their recruitment policy negatively affecting their future?

Let's dive into #lufc business

The recent signing of Gabriel Gudmundsson was the 3rd of this window that required a work permit

All 3, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw & GG all either had autopasses or earned 15pts through the GBE criteria

If you are interested to know what GBE is gbeexperthub.com/p/the-basics-o…

Last season, in the Championship, Leeds bought 4 players who needed a work permit

Largie Ramazani - GBE (played in La Liga) - €7.7m
Ao Tanaka - GBE (played in Bundesliga) - €4m
Josuha Guilavogui - GBE (played in Bundesliga) - 0
Isaac Schmidt - ESC, didn't get 15 GBE pts - €3m

Ilia Gruev was the only piece of foreign recruitment in 23/24, he also came from the Band 1 Bundesliga.

Is Schmidt's apparent lack of success, 71 minutes across 12 appearances last season, a potential reason to eschew the ESC slot method?

Or is it simply a case of concentrating all available funds towards increasing the floor and the ceiling of the 1st team, especially in this PL prep window.

Leeds were a big team in the CH, capable of capturing players from Band 1 leagues, those tend to be the players who can

Make a difference to an already strong squad.

Getting Leeds over the line back into the PL was been the big priority & now survival is, is the budget or appetite for risk there to look to smaller leagues for potential rather than proven ability that GBE players tend to have?

Another issue, perhaps the answer to the question, is how many slots Leeds actually have available?

The screenshot below shows the % of CH mins given to domestic players last season

Leeds could have up to 4 ESC slots, but need to give 35% of mins to English Qualified Players

Whilst the Transfermarkt mins are likely to be lower, given the fact that the ESC rules say it is judged on "available" mins, it is still a stretch to believe that Leeds would get over the 35% mark to get all 4 slots, they would need 25% or more to have 2 slots available

2 would mean that they could carry Isaac Schmidt plus one more. If they are below 20% then they cannot have a slot for this season.

The funny thing is that Leeds do have good UK representation, but it is mainly Welsh! Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu & Dan James were all key players

Does Leeds' lack of ESC usage matter?

That depends. In terms of their current goals, I don't really think so. They are looking to add players who will help them survive, so it is sensible for their time & budget to go towards that.

However, looking around at their rivals...

Sunderland have been heavy users of ESC in the CH, their model of bringing in young players necessitated that.

Burnley have also used ESC in the past, Wilson Odobert one of the best historical uses, and they have used one in this window on Max Weiß.

Historically, the Championship clubs are much bigger users of ESC, mainly because there are a lot of ESC quality players that can benefit CH 1st teams.

However, ESC usage in the PL has been concentrated on clubs such as Brighton, Wolves, Bournemouth, Chelsea all buying 18yo's

Uses this summer so far include Spurs signing 20yo Kota Takai, Man Utd signing 18yo Diego León & Brighton signing 18yo Yoon Do-Young.

Do Leeds also need to start stockpiling the best talent from around the world?

It seems to be the way that the PL is going

Sheffield United are also pursuing that type of course even though they are in the CH still. All 4 of their slots have been taken up with young talent identified from global Band 6 markets

It is perhaps not something for right now, but it should be something to be mindful of

The lack of EQP minutes could continue to be a problem though without many top Engiish players.

Sean Longstaff could form part of the solution here, but will need more backup.

IMO Leeds are doing the right thing. It is very tough to stay in the PL. Ambitious recruitment of players who will be first team players & who raise the floor & ceiling of the 1st team should be the concentration.

Signing a top GK & CF is probably a priority, but also expensive

Hopefully this thread was enlightening in some way.

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