Leeds United and Everton are close to reaching an agreement on a second loan deal for Jack Harrison.
The Whites enjoyed a productive day on the exit front on Wednesday as not only did they make progress on loaning out Harrison again, but also moved closer to finalising Marc Roca’s permanent move to Real Betis.
Both Harrison and Roca are two players who have the option to leave Elland Road on loan for a second time after Leeds’ failure to win promotion to the Premier League.
However, it appears as though only one in Harrison will be making use of that clause, with Betis instead deciding to pursue a proper transfer.
That will leave just Max Wober, Rasmus Kristensen and Diego Llorente with futures to clarify over the returning loanees, all of whom do not have the option to leave on loan again.
How much Leeds will make from loaning out Harrison
While Paraag Marathe insisted the club are in a better position regarding the loanees, Leeds still can’t quite escape some of the crazy decisions of the Victor Orta era.
Being allowed to leave on loan for one summer was bad enough, but to have included that clause in multiple shows just how poor he was at his job.
The fact Harrison only signed a new deal until 2028 a month before Leeds’ relegation also makes it even worse.
Ultimately, though, the situation is no where near as bad as last summer and Harrison may actually be the only one who ends up leaving on loan again.
That will certainly be a relief to Leeds, as according to the Athletic, they are due to receive no loan fee from Everton as part of the deal, which was also the case last year in all eight of their first team temporary exits.
Instead, Everton will be covering the entirety of his salary, which should help Leeds in their compliance with PSR due to their overall wage bill being lower, as Angus Kinnear explained after last summer.
However, the deal will provide no benefit to Leeds’ cash flow, which is frustrating considering they need to pay off £73 million in transfer instalments by June 30.
What Everton told Leeds in Harrison negotiations
The only benefit to Leeds of Harrison signing that long-term contract just before relegation is that they are very much protected when it eventually comes to selling him.
Harrison will still have three years left to run on his deal at Elland Road once his second loan spell is done, meaning there will be no loss of value.
And according to our sister site TBR Football, Everton told Leeds in negotiations this time around that they will be able to sign him permanently next summer.
This is because a takeover has still not yet been agreed at Goodison Park and so until that is finalised, Everton will once again be working under a tight budget.