George Overhill

Thu 16 February 2023 17:10, UK

Leeds United have put experienced English Premier League managers under consideration after missing out on their preferred options, according to Beren Cross.

Having failed in their pursuits of Carlos Corberan from West Brom, Andoni Iraola from Rayo Vallecano and Arne Slot from Feyenoord, while free agent Marcelo Gallardo doesn’t want to take a job midseason, the Whites’ options are dwindling.

So it appears that top flight veteran bosses are now an option that the club’s hierarchy have had to incorporate into the process, but as yet none have proven suitable.

In response to a question on his Leeds Live Q&A about English manager options Cross wrote: “I am led to believe managers with experience of the league have been under consideration, they just evidently either aren’t available, don’t play with the right tactics, are asking for too much money or the wrong kind of contract, or simply don’t want to come.”

This comes as Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp have both made clear they are available, with the former pitching his openness to an approach on his No Tippy Tappy Football podcast (10 February), while The Mirror reported on Thursday morning (16 February) the latter’s offer to come out of retirement until the end of the season at Elland Road.

Emergency

Unless Michael Skubala proves to be an extended revelation in caretaker charge with the assistance of Chris Armas and Paco Gallardo, then the decision-makers are going to have to think outside the box for the rest of the season.

The top targets made sense in themselves, but the fact that they were unavailable and the club didn’t appear to see that coming is very disappointing.

That Alfred Schreuder was apparently almost the alternative despite a patchy track record before a fan backlash warned the board off the appointment also isn’t very confidence-inspiring.

Solid, long-term options look to be largely a summer consideration now, which is perhaps not a huge surprise if Leeds United had nobody lined up in advance.

But it goes without saying that staying in the Premier League before then is the absolute priority, and whoever can do that has to be in the conversation.

Sean Dyche would probably have been the top name in terms of English bosses with a depth of top flight experience, but with Everton having pulled the plug on Frank Lampard’s time in charge and brought the former Burnley boss in shortly before Jesse Marsch was sacked he is off the table.

Redknapp is a long-time out of the Premier League now, less so Allardyce, but whether they are up to speed with the current game in the top flight is a valid question.

Neil Warnock has come out of retirement to help Huddersfield until the end of the season in the second tier, so even the likes of Roy Hodgson might be waiting by the phone now, but the fact these names are even worth mentioning shows how badly the manager situation has turned out this year.

In other Leeds United news, click here to see breaking, around-the-clock updates on Leeds’ search for a new manager in our interactive live blog.

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