Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe has claimed that Marcelo Bielsa “could be fantastic” in the Premier League with Leeds and expects the club to go up this season.
Bielsa and Leeds narrowly missed out on promotion last season after finishing third in the Championship and losing in the play-offs to Derby County.
Bielsa stayed on at Leeds and his side are currently top of the league after eight games.
Talking on The Debate (Sky Sports, Tuesday, midnight), former Man City and Everton player Hinchcliffe said he expects Leeds to go up this season and warned the football world to “watch out”.
“I’d be surprised if Leeds finish outside of the top two this season,” Hinchcliffe said.
Asked how Bielsa would fare in the Premier League, Hinchcliffe said, “He could be fantastic, at the right club with the right bunch of players, who give themselves up to him, which is what’s happening at Leeds.
“Maybe that’s why the Championship was good for him. The players at Leeds love him. He would be wonderful. If he gets Leeds to the Premier League and hopefully stays on, watch out. ”
Bielsa has changed Leeds
That much is obvious. When Bielsa arrived Leeds had finished 13th in the Championship. He took pretty much the same squad to within a whisker of promotion.
Bielsa is hugely popular with the fans both for what’s happening on the pitch, but also off it, with the manager regularly spotted in the community – as he was recently when one fan saw him shopping in Morrisons with his Leeds training kit on.
That would be fantastic to see if he was a Premier League manager.
According to Athletic journalist Phil Hay, Bielsa’s contract is “effectively three one-year deals with the club holding an option to extend each time. They won’t stand in his way if he wants to leave”.
There was doubt about whether he would stay if Leeds didn’t get promoted last season, but he ended up signing for another season.
people very close to him in Argentina said when he took the job that he’d only stay on for a second year if Leeds were promoted. I don’t know what he’s thinking now but that was the message.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) February 26, 2019
Given that, there has to be a doubt about whether he would stay for a third season in the Championship, but Hay thinks if he does get promoted, he will be looking to keep faith in his current crop of players.
The Telegraph has reported that Bielsa has a clause that would enable him to leave if he feels he can’t take Leeds any further.
That makes this a very high-stakes season for Leeds. We’d love to see Bielsa and Leeds in the Premier League – this season could represent the last chance.
The spate of new contracts at Leeds United suggests Marcelo Bielsa will take a lot of these players with him if the club win promotion this season.
A piece from Barnsley, including the thoughts of Uwe Rosler on Stuart Dallas' growing reputation:https://t.co/LvBwp2XRDL
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 16, 2019