Leeds United see Marcelo Gallardo as true long-term successor to Marcelo Bielsa, could try again
Marcelo Gallardo is seen as the “true long-term successor” to Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United according to Jason Burt in The Telegraph.
The Argentine has been approached already but wasn’t interested in taking over a job mid-season, leaving open the possibility that he could be asked again in the summer.
Victor Orta is a particular admirer but with so many other options also proving unavailable, such as Andoni Iraola and Carlos Corberan, there is a risk the Whites will be relegated before they can come back to him.
Burt writes in The Telegraph: “They, especially the under-pressure Orta, are admirers of Marcelo Gallardo and would regard the Argentine as a true long-term successor to Bielsa having left River Plate last October after eight successful years.
“But rather like Bielsa and most top coaches, Gallardo is in no rush to take a job mid-season or even, now, later in the campaign. It appears he would rather wait.
“Maybe Leeds can try for him again in the summer. The fear is that, by then, they may be a Championship rather than a Premier League club, with all the ramifications that relegation brings.”
Big summer
More and more signs are pointing towards the club having to muddle through the rest of the campaign attempting to stay in the Premier League however they can, before making a proper appointment following the season.
That is evidently a risky business, and while Michael Skubala has done better than expected presiding over two meetings with Manchester United it remains to be seen what he can achieve longer term.
Jesse Marsch was originally supposed to be the long-term successor to Bielsa, and that never really went anywhere in almost a year.
So in hindsight it is tempting to suggest that the club implemented the succession from their legendary former boss about as well as they have gone about sacking and replacing the American.
All in all this season has seen the squad arguably improve significantly yet the overall direction of the club is much harder to discern.
The campaign has gone nowhere and it feels like it is a year treading water at best, while once again risking relegation.
Recreating the Bielsa heyday is a tempting dream, but whether it is one that is actually more of a fantasy will remain a question unless the club ever lands on some stability after his exit.
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