Leeds United could now be on the verge of ending their manager search…
What is the latest news on Leeds’ manager search?
According to renowned journalist Phil Hay of The Athletic, the Yorkshire outfit are set to appoint former Watford boss Javi Gracia.
He tweeted:
“Leeds United set to confirm Javi Gracia as their new head coach. Interview with him went well and deal should be finalised shortly. Arrives with the initial target of staving off relegation.”
Is Javi Gracia a suitable appointment for Leeds?
It’s clear that the Whites’ quest to find a suitable replacement for Jesse Marsch has become a little desperate, having had several names ruled out of the running for one reason or another.
The likes of former Marcelo Bielsa assistant Carlos Corberan, his protege Andoni Iraola at Rayo Vallecano, Arne Slot of Feyenoord and Alfred Schreuder have all been linked to the post, but to no avail.
Gracia has been out of work for around eight months, having left Qatar Stars League outfit Al-Sadd in the summer and has not coached in England since being sacked by Watford in September 2019.
During the 2018/19 campaign, the Spaniard guided the Hornets to safety and made the FA Cup final for the first time in 35 years but as is often the case in north London, he wasn’t able to last long in Gino Pozzo’s ruthless regime.
Overall, his time in the country drew just a 37.8% win rate from 66 matches, with that decreasing to just 32% in the Premier League alone.
With Leeds languishing in the relegation zone, Gracia will need to hit the ground running at Elland Road, though his track record makes it seem like that’ll be an even more arduous task, especially as Marsch’s win rate (29%) at the club was very similar.
It won’t be easy to get his ideas across quickly, considering the side had worked with the American for a whole year and in the past two weeks, with U21 boss Michael Skubala and that’ll only be a further detriment to their survival chances and thus, it could have been better to stick it out with the former RB Leipzig boss before making a change in the summer.
AND in other news, Radrizzani could all but seal Leeds’ relegation amid managerial reports on 40 y/o boss…
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