Leeds United chose to sack Paul Heckingbottom on Friday as they wanted to avoid paying more compensation had they swung the axe before June 1st, according to reliable journalist Alan Nixon.
The Sun reporter states on his personal Twitter account that the stunning truth behind the exit of the former Barnsley boss is that the Whites were delaying their decision to get rid of him until the start of the month as they saved money on his departure.
Heckingbottom arrived at Elland Road back in February to replace Thomas Christiansen after he was unable to halt their dismal run of form, but after just four wins the new man in charge was given his marching orders.
Opinion
Does it come as any real surprise that this decision came down to money, as so many moves in football do? Andrea Radrizzani seemed to be uncertain on whether to give Heckingbottom the chance to prove himself over the summer but it appears as though that was just a ruse to keep everyone, including the manager, on tenterhooks as he counted down the days until he could pull the trigger for a much more reasonable price. Heckingbottom will be feeling pretty dismayed by the manner of his exit, especially considering he was never given the opportunity to build a squad of his own in the transfer window, but fans can be sure that the compensation coming his way will soften the blow after less than just four months in charge at Elland Road. It has been a costly couple of months for Radrizzani though and he will be hoping that the next man in the dugout proves himself to be worthy of staying in for significantly longer than his predecessors.