Changes may not prevent Leeds exodus

Further departures from Leeds United seem inevitable after the club made major changes behind the scenes yesterday in an attempt to solve their financial crisis.

Professor John McKenzie, the chairman, is bringing in a new team of accountants from Ernst & Young and will personally take a more hands-on role. Leeds want to raise up to £15m through refinancing and have identified a total of £5m in annual savings, but with overall debts of £79m it seems certain that more players will be sold.

While relegation to the First Division, which remains a possibility, would inevitably lead to the exit of many players, even Premiership survival is unlikely to prevent some departures.

In the last nine months Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Keane, Robbie Fowler and Jonathan Woodgate have left for combined fees in the region of £44m. However, with transfer fees falling, Leeds are unlikely to be able to raise anything like that figure when the summer transfer window opens.

Paul Robinson, the goalkeeper, seems the most likely to leave, but £5m may be the most the club could expect. Arsenal rate Robinson but are likely to identify cheaper targets, which could leave Manchester United as the only interested club, although they also have other options in mind.

Harry Kewell's position is a major worry for Leeds, who fear a repeat of the Lee Bowyer fiasco. The sale of Bowyer to Liverpool last summer would have raised around £8m, but the move fell through and he later joined West Ham for £100,000. Kewell, who was talked of as a £20m Serie A player not long ago, may wait until he is a free agent in the summer of 2004. If sold this summer, a fee of around £5m again appears the maximum Leeds could expect. Old Trafford would be a possible destination.

Alan Smith, despite his fiery nature, would also be popular on the open market and could command a bigger fee than any other Leeds player. The striker has recently signed a new contract and is the last player Leeds would wish to let go, but that may have to happen if Robinson or Kewell do not leave.

Mark Viduka would probably fetch no more than £3m, James Milner could be a possible long-term investment and both Danny Mills – who recently signed a contract worth almost £2m a year – and Eirik Bakke would probably command fees. However, it is hard to see Leeds being able to raise much money from other sales, although there is one possible additional payment on the horizon: if West Ham avoid relegation – which could also involve sending the Elland Road club down – Leeds will receive a £500,000 bonus from the Bowyer sale. Some consolation.