Journalist Pete O'Rourke has dropped a claim on the 49ers potential increased involvement at Leeds United...

What's the story?

According to recent reports, the Whites' chief executive, Angus Kinnear, is set to resign at the end of the season, throwing a lot of things up into the air.

And now, O'Rourke has delivered his verdict on Kinnear's potential exit, and what that could potentially mean for the 49ers too.

He said: "Angus Kinnear has done a good job in the background at Leeds United, so they wouldn’t want to lose him as well as Bielsa in a matter of months.

"Maybe that might point to more influence from the 49ers and the American side of things as well."

Could be exciting times for Leeds

Leeds supremo Andrea Radrizzani has previously said: "Now we are partnered with 49ers, this is fundamentally very important because it will be very difficult to stay in the Premier League, but if we stay in it this year I think we can go much more than last year and go into the top six.

"Start to renovate the stadium and continue to grow the value of this club."

The summer just gone by saw the Whites take a more reserved approach to the transfer market, but another season of staying in the Premier League would surely allow them to loosen the purse-strings.

Leeds fans will no doubt be watching the likes of Newcastle being taken over by new owners and the prospect of massive amounts of investment, and will be longing for a similar kind of spending spree in the future.

If Kinnear does end up leaving and thus allowing for the 49ers to have increased influence, that could spell exciting times at Leeds in terms of potential new signings and the ability to compete with teams far higher up in the table than they are right now.

It could breathe some fresh air into things behind-the-scenes at the club and usher in a new era, particularly when they've also got a new manager at the helm too in Jesse Marsch.

Meanwhile, Leeds must finally unleash this rarely-seen star...