Daniel Farke now fallback option for Leeds United manager after 49ers push for Andoni Iraola agreement
Former Leeds United managerial target Andoni Iraola emerged as the 49ers Enterprises preferred candidate for the role with Daniel Farke a fall-back option, according to Football League World.
Sky Sports Germany revealed on 10 June that Farke is attracting interest from Leeds after his departure from German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach, with further talks planned.
49ers Enterprises have now firmly placed their attention on filling the vacant managerial hotseat after Sam Allardyce’s departure, with Carlos Corberan and Farke two targets.
However, that preference seemed to have dramatically changed, with the 49ers now preferring Rayo Vallecano coach Iraola, according to Football League World [19 June].
Former Norwich City manager Farke became as the fall-back option should their approach for the Spaniard fail with no agreement, and it has indeed done so as Bournemouth have made a stunning move to sack Gary O’Neil and appoint Iraola on the same day.
Farke should be top
Iraola did a spectacular job at Vallecano, leading them to 11th in La Liga an improvement on the position they finished during the 2021/22 campaign, playing attractive, front-front, high-intensity football so the appeal is certainly there to try and convince the Spaniard to join.
However, there are doubts about his inexperience with the Sky Bet Championship proving a very gruelling and testing division.
Also, the Spaniard may well harbour ambitions to manage a Europa League or Europa Conference League club in the near future which means Leeds United were possibly clutching at straws should they make their approach.
For this reason, Farke has got to be the top target, given his wonderful experience in the Championship, his winning mentality, penchant for an attractive brand of football and his capabilities of turning Leeds United into a well-oiled machine should he be provided with the resources – something he never got at Norwich City once they returned to the English top-flight.
The Iraola attraction certainly was there, but with so much riding on the 49ers’ decision-making in the coming weeks, there were no guarantees the Spaniard can survive the Championship. Why not go for arguably one of the division’s greatest coaches in Farke? He shouldn’t be a fall-back option.
In other Leeds United news, with the new boss now key one man is emerging as a “serious contender” for the job.