OPINION
Leeds United remain without a manager following Garry Monk’s shock resignation at the end of May and the Yorkshire side need to find a replacement quickly.
Aitor Karanka was heavily linked after losing his job at Middlesbrough, but Leeds have moved quickly to distance themselves from him, along with Michael Laudrup and Simon Grayson.
Hopefully they’re looking closer to home – the best man for the job is former assistant head coach Pep Clotet. He knows the side well and would be seen as a committed figure at Elland Road.
Stability is exactly what Leeds need now as they venture into the next season in the Championship after an exciting, but ultimately anti-climactic season.
The team arguably performed above themselves last season, and employing a new manager keen to stamp his own identity on the club could prove to be disastrous.
Leeds also need to find Monks’ predecessor quickly – they need to strengthen their squad and have a solid pre-season.
Another name that’s been thrown in the ring is a surprise one, Claudio Ranieri, the man who worked a miracle at Leicester as he steered them to the Premier League in 2015/16.
However, the Italian was sacked after a disastrous second season with the side.
If Ranieri was to be appointed Leeds’ new boss, the pressure of creating the same success could prove too much and see the club bounce back to square one.
While Ranieri would undoubtably be a great leader, he just might rock the boat a little to much and unsettle the side.
For our money Pep Clotet looks like the best option – the players are fond of him and the fans are behind him too.
Pep Clotet would be a great boss for us this season. Continuing on last years work will be important – he'd be great I think.
— Petter-Andre (@petter_andre) June 2, 2017
Bar Jokanovic I think Clotet is the best option. Supposedly a fantastic coach and knows the players. Most signed because of him #lufc
— Irish_Leeds (@Irish_Leeds) June 2, 2017
Clotet is now the runaway favourite on SkyBet, at odds of just evens, but if he was being lined up for the job, surely he would have been announced by now?
It suggests the Leeds hierarchy have other ideas – but the best thing they could do is announce Clotet as Monk’s successor quickly and start rebuilding for the play-offs immediately.