Presenter and journalist Richard Keys believes that Leeds United’s part-owners wanted American coach Jesse Marsch in the door at Elland Road as early as last year.
Marcelo Bielsa was sacked after a 4-0 home defeat at home against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The defeat meant that the Whites had conceded 10 goals in their last two games whilst failing to score.
The Argentine took over the club in 2018 and managed to lead his side to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years. However, 49ers Enterprises wanted new coach Marsch in the door six months earlier than when they eventually hired him, according to Keys.
Keys revealed the claim on his personal blog, stating he is ‘hearing’ that the 49ers wanted Marsch in the door in the summer, alongside a few key players.
He wrote: “I’m hearing that the 49ers wanted him in last summer – along with a wish list of players he’d worked with before – the likes of Minamino and Brenden Aaronson.”
TIF Thoughts on Richard Keys’ comments…
With Keys claiming that the 49ers wanted Marsch in sooner, alongside players such as Takumi Minamino and Brenden Aaronson, it could have been a very different look for Leeds this season.
Leeds sit two points off the drop and have a worryingly long injury list, but Bielsa was not able to bring in any new faces in January. If Marsch was in the building in the summer and he managed to his players in, then they wouldn’t have to worry as much about these injuries, as they would have greater depth.
However, it has certainly been unprecedented circumstances for the Whites this season with how many injuries they have suffered to key players, so it was near enough impossible for Bielsa to predict this and get what may have been seen as unnecessary cover in the door.
Bielsa was greatly adored at Leeds, and it’s evident how much the players also loved him, so you would imagine such a move for Marsch in the summer won’t have gone down too well at Elland Road – especially given they were entering the current campaign having just finished in the top half.