One National League club is set to receive a six-figure sum after Leeds United seal promotion to the Premier League this weekend.
After a 16 year wait, Leeds are back in the big time, thanks to Huddersfield’s 2-1 win over West Brom, and then were crowned champions less than 24 hours later when Brentford lost to Stoke.
Chesterfield will look to bank in around £150,000, and it’s all because of a former player of theirs, who joined the Whites in 2014.
DONE DEAL: We can confirm the signing of Liam Cooper from Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee on a 3-year deal #lufc pic.twitter.com/ezbhWnuAwW
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 13, 2014
The Spireites sold Liam Cooper for a fee worth £600,000 and also placed a clause in the paperwork which means they are entitle to an additional six-figure sum if Leeds won promotion to the top flight and if the defender made a certain number of appearances.
28 year old Coops has played a total of 37 times for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this season so it is believed Chesterfield will get a windfall.
Derbyshire Times say it’s unknown at this stage whether the much needed money will go to current owner Dave Allen or if the Chesterfield FC Community Trust can get their hands on it if they complete a takeover.
Spireites company secretary, Ashley Carson, confirmed: “We do have a clause that pays us a significant bonus if they gain promotion to the Premier League. As you can imagine, the contract is subject to confidentiality, no surprise, but it is a six-figure figure sum.”
It was a 2014 pre-season friendly that got Leeds attention in Cooper, and now it’s ended with a National League club to receive a six-figure sum.
Cooper’s agent Steve Blatherwick, himself a former Chesterfield centre-half, said: “They were really impressed with him that game, he had a worldie.”
At first, the club, who at the time was under Dave Hockaday, offered £500,000 for Cooper but Chesterfield told them to double up the offer.
The West Yorkshire outfit came back with another offer of £600,000, to be paid in two installments, with a number of add-ons, but this was also rejected.
The third bid was £600,000 paid in full plus the add-ons, according to Graham Bean, Leeds’ club consultant who then went on to be Chesterfield’s chief executive in 2018 before leaving last year.
LIAM COOPER’S PLAYING CAREER:
2008–2013 – Hull City – 11 games
2011 → Carlisle United (loan) – 6 games (1 goal)
2011 → Huddersfield Town (loan) – 4 games
2012–2013 → Chesterfield (loan) – 10 games (1 goal)
2013–2014 – Chesterfield – 61 games (4 goals)
2014– Leeds United – 181 games (8 goals)
National team
2008 – Scotland U17 – 5 games
2009 – Scotland U19 – 1 game
2019– Scotland – 2 games
Bielsa’s men suffered play-off heartache last year but have recovered impressively to secure an automatic promotion spot with an attractive and relentless style of play.
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper spoke to LUTV after the club won promotion back to the Premier League.
CHAMP CHAMP!! ??? pic.twitter.com/MMcC6yqiRe
— Liam Cooper ?? (@LiamCooper__) July 18, 2020
Cooper helped the Whites record a 26th win in the Sky Bet Championship on Thursday against Barnsley and results elsewhere sealed Leeds’ passage back to the top-flight.
The skipper gave his reaction and heaped praise on his teammates for their performances throughout the campaign.
“This wasn’t in the plan, we expected both teams (West Bromwich Albion & Brentford) to win every game,” said Cooper.
“We thought we’d get together and watch the game, not expecting this at all.
“I’m absolutely delighted, this club has been in the doldrums for 16 years and to be part of the club and this group of players in honestly unbelievable.
“The hard work which goes in every single day has been hard, but these boys have been unbelievable backed by our amazing fans.
“I’m over the moon and delighted to lead this group of players.
“Everyday is unbelievable, we learn so much and from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to the club and these boys.
“This group doesn’t know the meaning of giving up and I’m so pleased for all of them.
“This smile is going to take some wiping off my face.”
From playing in League 2 with Chesterfield, to getting promoted from the Championship with Leeds. What a journey for Liam Cooper!
The Spireites will now receive approximately £150k – a massive boost for the trust ?⚪#spireites #chesterfieldfc pic.twitter.com/swwpNg8uld
— Chesterfield FC Fans (@thespireites) July 17, 2020
You must be logged in to post a comment Login