Former Leeds United player Noel Whelan has warned that the club could face an exodus of players if the financial difficulties brought about by the suspension of the football season continue.

Leeds were one of the first clubs to confirm a wage deferral deal for their players following football's shutdown, although it seems even that agreement may not be enough if the delay to proceedings is extended further.

It was recently revealed by the club's managing director Angus Kinnear that Leeds could survive for around eight or nine months if, as expected, football resumes behind closed doors, but that the Whites would have to address the issue of player wages if such a situation continues.

That is something that Whelan fears could lead to other problems for Leeds, and when asked how those negotiations over wages could go for the club, the ex-striker told Football Insider: “You’ve got to hope that players agree to that. A contract is a contract unfortunately and it is binding.

“They’re already taking a deferral of their own wages to help the club out but they’ve got to survive as well, like a football club. They’ve got bills to pay and mortgages to pay etcetera.

“It’s going to be a very tough conversation with every single player if it does come to that point that players will have to take a huge cut in their wages.

"Will we see an exodus of players saying if you’re not going to stick to your contract then we’re going to leave?"

Assessing the position Leeds find themselves in at the minute, Whelan continued: “Hopefully that won’t be the case but the club seems to have finances in place to take care of wages up until a certain point but that’s when you start worrying if it goes beyond that point. How are you going to fund the club, fund the players?

“You’ve just got to hope that if the season is finished and they are promoted they get that windfall.”

As things stand, Leeds are currently top of the Championship table, seven points clear of third-placed Fulham in the race for automatic promotion, with nine games of the season still to be played at some point.

The Verdict

This is an incredibly difficult situation for Leeds to deal with.

On the one hand, the size of the club means it is not got to be cheap to run in a time like this when there is next to no income coming in, so you can understand the need to reduce their financial outlay, by doing thing such as reducing player wages, to keep them going in the meantime.

However, that could then lead to a struggle to keep their players, who themselves need wages to look after themselves and their families, potentially forcing them to leave Leeds in search of those funds, which would then make it incredibly difficult for Leeds to compete on the pitch, which could lead to financial difficulties of another kind.