Leeds United are unlikely to appoint bookies favourite Pep Clotet as their new manager, according to a reliable journalist.
Yorkshire Evening Post correspondent Phil Hay took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to claim that Garry Monk’s former number two is not in pole position to take over at Elland Road.
Replying to a question from Leeds supporter, Hay reported on his personal Twitter account that he did not expect Clotet to get the nod for the vacant post as he is regarded as a “risk” despite club chiefs regarding him “highly”.
I don’t expect the club to go for Clotet as head coach. They think highly of him but that option is seen as a risk.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) June 5, 2017
This comes after Clotet was installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to be appointed as the new Leeds manager at the end of last week.
The Spaniard, 40, remained as the strong favourite on Monday, with Sky Bet pricing him at 13/8, ahead of former Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, who is 7/2, and Alan Pardew, who is priced at 5/1.
Clotet has previous managerial experience in Spain and Sweden, most notably at Halmstad in 2011.
He first linked up in the dugout with Monk at Swansea and then joined the 38-year-old’s backroom staff when he was appointed Leeds manager last June.
The Championship giants are looking for their eighth manager in four years after Monk handed in his resignation 11 days ago.
Elland Road owner Andrea Radrizzani subsequently claimed that he had not only tried to activate the option of a 12-month extension to the year-long contract Monk signed last June but he also intended to offer the 38-year-old a long-term contract.