.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
Leicester City transfer that best alleviates PSR concerns would lead to anger
Where City stand on Profit and Sustainability Rules is unknown, but they will need to adjust their finances as they prepare for a reduction in revenue in the Championship
It’s become common wisdom around Leicester City that Mads Hermansen is their most profitable asset, but he may have a contender.
The goalkeeper, signed for £6.5m two seasons ago, could leave for four or five times that this summer, and if he does, it would greatly help City in their bid to keep in line with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
But what about Ben Nelson? As an academy graduate, he will be in the books at next to nothing, and so if the young centre-back was sold, his transfer fee would go down as ‘pure profit’, just as the sales for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harvey Barnes did.
If Nelson went for more than say £20m, he would be generating a profit in line with that that Hermansen can generate.
It’s an important point to note because now Dewsbury-Hall and Barnes have left, City are running short on money-spinning homegrown talents.
While their first-team squad includes a commendable number of academy graduates, very few would attract big bids.
Fifteen-year-old winger Jeremy Monga perhaps has the highest ceiling and he’s caught the attention of the country’s biggest clubs.
But they won’t have to splash out on him while he’s not under a professional contract, something he’s not able to sign until July 2026 when he turns 17.
If he leaves before then, it will be a case of a compensation agreement, potentially to be decided by a tribunal.
That leaves Nelson as the most valuable of City’s current homegrown stock. There have not been any rumours this summer, but he was linked to Manchester City in the past, while his performances on loan at Oxford this season have seen their manager Gary Rowett suggest he could be playing in the Premier League next term, bypassing City.
His future may be determined by City’s PSR situation, which remains up in the air.
Never mind the dispute with the Premier League over the 22-23 finances, with the club and the league locked in “confidential arbitration proceedings”, there are this year’s accounts, for 24-25, and the accounts for next season to consider.
While the numbers over the 24-25 season don’t have to be submitted until the end of the calendar year, City have clearly been fearful of a breach, limiting their January spending to just £3m on right-back Woyo Coulibaly.
Plus, there have been suggestions that Ruud van Nistelrooy’s future has been in part decided by PSR calculations, with concerns over the impact of two managerial sackings in one financial year.
If City need to correct course, they need sales before the deadline on June 30.
Going forward, into 25-26, and City have to cope with a significant decrease in TV and sponsorship revenue as a Championship club. That means reducing the wage bill and bringing in cash through player sales.
There is so much that is unknown and that’s why there’s potential trouble when it comes to Nelson.
When City were last in the Championship, they needed to sell Barnes at the start of the financial year and Dewsbury-Hall at the end of it in order to meet PSR guidelines. With Timothy Castagne thrown in, profits of more than £70m were raised.
Looking at City’s current first-team squad, it feels like similar levels of profit will be much harder to come by. That’s unless a player like Nelson is in the mix to be sold.
