"No fears" - Exclusive: Don Goodman makes Elland Road claim after big Leeds United announcement | OneFootball

Don Goodman does not think that the Whites' redevelopment plans will negatively affect their impressive home atmosphere

Former footballer and current Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman believes that Leeds United's plans to redevelop Elland Road will not affect the great atmosphere that their supporters create, following Simon Jordan's warning that they could become a tourist club.

Leeds returned to the Premier League on Easter Monday, as fellow promotion-hopefuls Burnley beat Sheffield United following their own 6-0 thrashing of Stoke City earlier the same day.

They will now be preparing for life back in the top-flight, and more positive updates have recently emerged from the club, after they revealed proposed images for the expansion of Elland Road on April 28 to follow on from their initial announcement of plans to modernise and improve the stadium in September last year.

Don Goodman issues 'no fears' Elland Road verdict after Simon Jordan comments

Elland Road has been Leeds' home since their formation as a club back in 1919, and it is currently the 13th-largest football stadium in England with an official capacity of around 37,792.

Plans to redevelop the ground have been in place at the club since 2021, but the proposals have been accelerated in recent weeks after Leeds City Council gave the Whites the go ahead to add nearly 20,000 seats to its capacity through expansion and modernisation.

The Athletic have revealed that work on the stadium is set to begin in September, with the full renovation not set to be completed until late 2030. The West Stand is set to be expanded from 8,000 seats to 17,750 seats, while the North Stand is due to increase from a capacity of 10,401 to around 15,300, leaving the final estimated stadium capacity at around 53,000.

While Whites fans will no doubt be pleased at the developments as they look to establish themselves as a top Premier League club in the years to come, ex-Crystal Palace chairman and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has warned the club not to give in to a "tourism mentality," which he claims could lessen their "intimidating" atmosphere in years to come.

Sky Sports co-commentator and former footballer Don Goodman is of a different opinion, and he has insisted that the increase in capacity at the stadium will not affect the intensity of Leeds' supporters going forward, after a similar redevelopment recently took place at Liverpool's Anfield.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman said: “I’ve got absolutely no fears whatsoever that the expansion at Elland Road will impact the atmosphere.

“I think if you look at Anfield, for example, and what Liverpool have achieved in expanding Anfield, there is no denying that it is still an old, traditional ground that has been upgraded, updated, modernised, and lost absolutely none of its electric atmosphere.

“So, it’s a no-brainer for Leeds to increase the capacity from around 37,500 to 53,000, because they'll fill it, and, as I said, I don’t think they would contemplate building a stadium that would impact their atmosphere.”

Leeds' on-field fortunes will determine their atmosphere - their attendances have improved in recent years of success

Leeds have all the tools as a club to become a genuine force in the Premier League in the years to come. They only need to look at similarly-sized clubs such as Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham and the success they have had in the top-flight and European competition as inspiration for what they could achieve if things go to plan both on and off the pitch.

It is fair to say that they have come on leaps and bounds in recent times, after years of poor performances throughout the 2000s and 2010s that saw them drop as low as League One for three years, from 2007 to 2010. Their average attendance across a single season dropped to around 21,500 in 2013, according to transfermarkt.

Marcelo Bielsa was the man that breathed new life into the Whites following his 2018 appointment, and by the time they were promoted to the Premier League in 2020, their average attendance at Elland Road was up to a much more respectable 35,321.

That figure has remained pretty similar over the last few seasons, so it is clear that Leeds need to continue on their upward trajectory in order to attract new supporters and eventually be able to fill out their 53,000-seater ground in five years' time.

The atmosphere at Elland Road has no doubt improved over the years, along with the gradual rise in supporters attending games, and that is surely only set to continue to go hand-in-hand if they are able to establish themselves in the Premier League.