LEEDS could ask Sheffield United to pay Rob Hulse's transfer fee in full if the Championship club's compensation claim after the Carlos Tevez Affair is upheld.
An independent arbitration panel ruled last month that West Ham, who are now attempting to contest its verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, should pay United an as yet unspecified sum in damages after one of the most controversial episodes in English football's recent history.
United dispute CAS' authority to intervene in what they insist was a private matter and have agreed to postpone talks aimed at reaching an acceptable amount until early next year.
But, should their argument that the decision of Lord Griffiths and his colleagues is binding prove successful, then they could be forced to write a cheque to their neighbours after Leeds chairman Ken Bates suggested United might feel obliged to settle a clause in the agreement which saw Hulse move to South Yorkshire in July 2006.
Bates said: "If Sheffield United get their substantial compensation £200,000 should be coming our way.
"That is the additional transfer fee we would have received for Rob Hulse if the Blades had kept their Premier League status and I'm sure Mr (Kevin) McCabe (United's chairman) won't begrudge a few crumbs from his rich man's table."
Bates' claims, made in Elland Road's matchday programme, illustrates the complex chain of events set in motion by West Ham's failure to ensure Tevez's presence at Upton Park satisfied regulations governing the third party ownership of players.
United, who sold Hulse to Derby for an estimated £1.7m earlier this summer, were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2006/07 season when they finished three points behind the Londoners; the exact margin Griffiths and his team deemed the Argentine's presence had been worth.
A senior member of Kevin Blackwell's squad has denied reports that United's playing staff have held talks about launching personal claims against West Ham but Wigan Athletic, one of McCabe's staunchest supporters over the past 18 months, and Bolton Wanderers are known to be investigating the possibility of asking their FAPL prize money to be re-adjusted accordingly.
Bates said: "Incidentally, I see the Premier League hierarchy are coming in for a bit of stick over the affair. I believe that they behaved impeccably.
"Their constitution insists that any dispute between clubs or between a club and the Premier League itself is referred to an independent tribunal whose decision is binding – and that is what happened."
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