OPINION
The hierarchy at Leeds United should seriously consider appointing Nigel Pearson as the new manager at Elland Road before the Championship season begins.
The Derby Telegraph recently reported that the 53-year-old manager was one of the main candidates for Championship sides Derby County and Sunderland.
The Yorkshire club should do everything in their power to convince Pearson to join them next season as he has all the credentials to lead Leeds back into the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
Pearson is a manager who has vast experience of Championship football with managerial spells at Hull City, Leicester City and Derby County.
He is a shrewd judge of a player, knows the lower league transfer market inside out and also has a proven track record of automatic promotion as he led Leicester back into the Premier League from the second tier during the 2013-14 season.
This was a massive achievement for the manager mainly because his team suffered playoff heartbreak the previous season against Watford as they conceded a dramatic last-minute winner.
Pearson was able to regroup his troops and steer them to England’s top flight as champions recording a total of 102 points.
In fact, Pearson signed the majority of players in the Leicester side that went on to win the 2016 Premier league title.
Leeds finished only five points below the playoff places last season and Pearson is just the type of character that could provide them with that extra push to finish in the top six.
He appears to be a very proud individual who will certainly speak his mind both publicly and behind closed doors especially with the board members regarding transfer activity.
The Elland Road faithful would find it very easy to warm to Pearson as he is normally very active on the touchline and he would show them to the sort of passion and desire that they have been awaiting for years.
Forget Claudio Ranieri, who has been linked with the vacant Leeds post, it would surely be a no-brainer for the club to move for another former Leicester manager.