Leeds United have been in talks with former Athletic Bilbao manager Marcelo Bielsa, it has been confirmed by his agent.
The Whites seem ready to make a quickfire appointment after it was announced on Friday that Paul Heckingbottom had been sacked from his role at Elland Road.
And now, Bielsa’s brother and representative Rafael has been quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post as confirming that “conversations are in progress” between the former Lille and Marseille manager and Leeds.
Bielsa has previously been dubbed as the “best coach in the world” by Premier League managers Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino and now looks to be the overwhelming favourite to succeed Heckingbottom at Elland Road.
OPINION
It now just seems a matter of time before Leeds get their man, with reports suggesting that Andrea Radrizzani is looking to hire a new manager instantly after sacking Heckingbottom. The now former Leeds manager was said to have been on holiday in Greece for last week, and it seems that the decision was made that he would be fired while he was away. There’s a good chance that Radrizzani and director of football Victor Orta had lined up Bielsa while Heckingbottom was on holiday. To have it move this quickly suggests that it’s a move that has been thought about thoroughly for several days. Bielsa should be a success at Elland Road. While he is erratic and unpredictable (that should make for some interesting press conferences), he is also an excellent coach and to have Guardiola and Pochettino raving about you is not something you see every day. Can Bielsa take Leeds back to the Premier League? Based off everything that has been said about him, it looks like he stands a chance.