49ers Enterprises will have a much bigger say at Leeds United next season, should they remain in the Premier League...

What's the word?

That's according to the ever-reliable Beren Cross of LeedsLive, who delivered a fresh claim to supporters in a recent online Q&A. In response to a question about recruitment in the summer, he said:

"If they survive, the club will certainly look to avoid making the same mistakes.

"You can imagine 49ers Enterprises having a louder and louder say on the direction things are going. Their investment has not been made with a view to going down.

"They want to see the club thrive and establish itself in the top flight. [Jesse] Marsch will have a different perspective to [Marcelo] Bielsa, which immediately changes the approach to squad size.

"[Victor] Orta will learn lessons from who has been recruited and who has not proved to be good enough buys too, you would hope."

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Exciting times ahead?

There is a long way to go but these are certainly encouraging words from a very trustworthy source.

The Yorkshire giants have been thrown back into the mire and face a stern fight for top-flight survival - heading into the weekend's fixtures, they sit just two points ahead of Everton, who have a game in hand, and level on points with Burnley.

One of the three teams is likely to go down alongside Norwich City and Watford.

There have been plenty of glimpses that Leeds can do enough to stave off their rivals. A 4-0 thrashing by Manchester City ended a five-game unbeaten run, during which they defeated the Hornets (3-0) and the Canaries (2-1).

Arsenal and then Chelsea present tough encounters but their final three games will be against teams with nothing to play for, so there's a very good chance that Marsch and co can keep the momentum going heading into the climax of the 2021/22 campaign.

The fact that the 49ers are going to have a bigger voice in the Elland Road hierarchy is exciting, not least because the manager and squad need substantial reinforcements to avoid another situation like this.

The American group clearly have big plans for the Whites but it all depends on their Premier League status heading into next term. They can provide the club more financially than current chairman Andrea Radrizzani, given their success with the NFL team.

Combined with Orta's recruitment team learning from their mistakes, that should leave everyone around west Yorkshire optimistic about the future ahead.

AND in other news, Graham Smyth drops early team news hint ahead of Arsenal...