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Hay: Bielsa will probably leave if Leeds don’t get promoted

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Image for Hay: Bielsa will probably leave if Leeds don’t get promoted

Phil Hay answered Leeds’ fans questions on a special episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast.

One fan asked whether he thought that manager Marcelo Bielsa, and owner Andrea Radrizzani, would stay if Leeds missed out on promotion.

The answer wasn’t the one that Leeds fans would have been hoping for.

“I think he [Bielsa] 100% will stay if Leeds go up, unless he’s not happy about transfer plans in the summer.

“But I have to admit, I don’t think Bielsa would stay for another year in the Championship. If it [promotion] doesn’t happen I can’t see him being here next season.”

Hay went on to talk about Radrizzani and while his answer wasn’t as direct, it still didn’t make good reading for Leeds fans.

“Last summer he sold 12% of the club to the investment arm of the 49ers for around £10million and if you’ve read the various interviews we’ve done with him, he consistently says he has a limited shelf life in the Championship and doesn’t want to lose a fortune.

“He’s always been fairly honest about that and I’ve had the gut feeling that it wouldn’t be a long stint here if Leeds didn’t make it to the Premier League.

“If you put together the pieces of the puzzle and look what he did with the 49ers in the summer, it’s a fair assumption that he could leave.”

OPINION

Getting promoted to the Premier League is always a high-stakes game. But this ramps up the pressure on Leeds to an extraordinary level. Leeds fans love Bielsa and the prospect of playing in their centenary year in the Premier League with him as their manager is a mouth-watering prospect. However, promotion isn’t nailed on. In fact, after the recent set of games, Leeds are currently out of the automatic promotion spots, although they do have a game in hand. Injuries are still continuing to plague the club, with star striker Kemar Roofe the latest to hit the sidelines. If Leeds do miss out on an automatic promotion spot, you have to think they’ll make the play-offs, but no Leeds fans will want to go through that lottery with the Premier League and the future of their manager at stake. We don’t want Bielsa to leave and would love to see him in the Premier League. If Hay is right, the next 14 games for Leeds have taken on an even bigger significance. 

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