By David Woods

4th Jun, 2018 | 11:03am

Reliable journalist provides timeline for new Leeds manager and status of leading candidate

Leeds United want a manager in place by the end of this week, according to a reliable journalist.

Phil Hay, from the Yorkshire Evening Post, posted the message on his Twitter account and added that Marcelo Bielsa was still top of the list but “by no means a done deal”.

Bielsa, the former Argentina manager, emerged as the leading candidate for the Leeds job last week, after Paul Heckingbottom was sacked.

Football Insider verdict:

This is a big week for Leeds. However Bielsa’s name has come out – and it does seem like the club has held face-to-face talks – the bar has been set high now. If they don’t land Bielsa then they’ll have to make sure that their Plan B is a name that will pacify the Leeds fans. The majority of them can’t believe that a manager with the status and heritage of Bielsa is thinking about signing on as the new manager, and it would be a huge disappointment if he was to turn it down. That now seems like the only reason why he wouldn’t join. However, Hay makes it clear that it’s a long way from a done deal and there could be many reasons why he decides that Leeds isn’t the right fit for him. We’d love to see Bielsa get a crack at the Championship. By all accounts he’s got a way of working that will either get the most out of the players that he decides to keep, or very quickly resign them to the scrapheap. That’s exactly what Leeds need right now.  

In other Leeds news, Lee Sharpe – Leeds must spend big to get back to the Premier League

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