Journalist Dean Jones thinks that Jesse Marsch could be the man to replace Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United.
Bielsa, as has been the case for some time at Elland Road, and barring his initial deal at the club, is in the midst of a one-year contract with the Whites, however there are some doubts as to whether or not he will be sticking around for the 2022/23 season and beyond.
Writing in an article for The Athletic for instance, Leeds United reporter Phil Hay claims “As yet, Leeds have had no intimation from Bielsa, who turns 67 in July, about whether he thinks he has a fifth year in charge in him.”
Meaning that the club could need to find a replacement for him this upcoming summer, and speaking in an exclusive interview with GiveMeSport, Jones claimed that the 48-year-old Marsch, who is currently out of work following a spell with German side RB Leipzig, could well be the man to take over at Elland Road, although did temper his claim by stating that he has been wrong about the 48-year-old in the past:
“Jesse Marsch would be a good choice. But, on the flipside of that, I thought he was going to do really well at Leipzig and he was gone in months.”
TIF Thoughts on Dean Jones’ comments about Jesse Marsch at Leeds United
Will Bielsa be at Leeds next season?
Yes
No
Interestingly, BBC pundit Maurice Ross was full of praise for Jesse Marsch as he said he’s ‘got the lot’ during the period last year when he was being linked with taking over at Celtic.
Taking over from someone like Bielsa, someone beloved by the Leeds United fans for the work he has done at the club, would be a mighty big responsibility in terms of emotion, but in terms of the size of the club that he’d be taking on, it seems like a reasonable move for him to make based on his career so far, not exactly a bit step back or step forward.
Marsch is someone who has spent the majority of his career working his way through the Red Bull group, moving from New York to Leipzig to assist Ralf Rangnick, before taking on the main job at Salzburg before returning to Leipzig again, so he has certainly been working his way through the system in world football, and has managed to pick up some silverware along the way.
His style is rather similar to Bielsa’s as he came out and said he likes to play fast football and control the space on the field, whilst giving the opponents no time and space.
So it certainly should be an option for them to explore should Bielsa decide to call it a day, but given the emotional attachment you would have to wonder it’s certainly a decision that both sides need to think through and make sure they’re doing the right thing before proceeding.
In other news: BT pundit wowed by Leeds ‘talent’ who averages over 3x as many key passes as Phillips