Leeds United hero concerns over widening gap between Premier League and Championship

With just over a quarter of the season left to go it already looks increasingly likely that the Premier League's three promoted sides will be relegated back to the Championship at the first attempt. 

Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich make up the bottom three, and this past weekend were all thrashed at home in what felt like a line in the sand for the season. 

It would mark the second season in a row where the three teams that came up go straight back down - the first time it's happened in consecutive seasons since the Premier League began in 1992. 

It's sparked concern about the widening gap between the two divisions, and will already be making fans of the Championship's top three Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley nervous.

Sspeaking exclusively to DAZN News, thanks to betpack, former Leeds striker Brian Deane has shared his worries over how hard it is becoming for promoted clubs. 

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"I think it’s becoming harder for teams that get promoted to compete now," Deane said. 

"If you think about the recruitment window that they have in summer, they can’t compete for the same players from a financial standpoint.

"I just think that the gap is widening, and the teams that go up, say if it’s Leeds, Sheffield United or Burnley, they’re all going to have to refresh half of their squad, any of those three teams.

"So it’s becoming more and more difficult, and the scouting of the top teams, even Brentford and Brighton, they’re the ones that are picking up a lot of these players that no one has heard of and then selling them on.

"They made a lot of money on Toney, bringing in Mbuemo, Wissa, these players. If you wanna buy them now, you’re looking at serious money.

"The same with Brighton, I can’t remember what they paid for Caicedo, but then sold him on for £100m, they’ve got Mitoma now. Nobody knows about these players, but they come in and they’ve got very good managers and these players just seem to fit in."
 

Looking at the current Championship standings, it's looking likely that Deane's former club, Leeds, could return to the top flight next season, possibly along with another of his old clubs, Sheffield United. 

Despite his concerns over the gap, the ex-England forward believes Leeds could buck the trend if they put the correct plan in place. 

Adding: "I think they’ve got to recruit and invest wisely, and if they do that, Elland Road is one of the best stadiums in the country – if they can get a team to match and stay up and have a medium-term plan, I think they’ve got a great chance.

"They’ve got players, but they’re going to have to add a bit of physicality as well, and they’re going to have to adapt to a slightly different style of play as well, as we have seen how teams get punished for the smallest of mistakes now.

"I think that they can stay up, but I think that they have to take stock in summer and have a realistic plan." 

 

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