Leeds United coach’s exit ‘instigated’ by Daniel Farke appointment – Phil Hay
Leeds United goalkeeping coach Marcos Abad is set to leave the club after six years following the arrival of Daniel Farke, Phil Hay reports in The Athletic.
The German was announced as the new manager on Tuesday (4 July) and brings with him his usual backroom team of Eddie Riemer, Christopher John and Chris Domogalla.
All three worked with him at Norwich and Borussia Monchengladbach, and after their belated arrival changes are now being set in motion at Elland Road, with Abad one of the first from the current set up on the way out.
Hay wrote in his Wednesday morning report: “Abad is set to depart Elland Road after six years in post as part of changes instigated by Farke’s appointment as first-team boss.
“United unveiled Farke on a four-year contract yesterday following an extensive recruitment process…
“Abad has been United’s goalkeeping coach since 2017, a recommendation of former director of football Victor Orta, but is now expected to exit the club.”
No time to spare
Abad leaving presumably means that Farke has more of his own people in mind to bring to the club, as there would have been no reason to keep Abad for the past month if the Whites were looking to have a clear-out this summer.
The new boss has got to make up for lost time as he arrives just as the preseason work is set to get under way on the training pitch.
Getting his squad up to speed while they are still unsettled is going to be a tough task, with plenty of the current names still at risk of leaving, and Farke will surely want some of his own signings as well.
A replacement for Abad is surely imminent, even allowing for the fact that the goalkeeping department could be pretty sparse itself soon after Joel Robles’ contract wasn’t renewed and with Illan Meslier mooted to possibly leave.
Leeds United are entering a new era under the 49ers, with the takeover hoped to be made official within days, but there is a lot of work still to do between now and the new season kicking off.
It doesn’t look like the new boss has wasted any time in starting to make changes to the coaching staff, and there will likely be more on the way.
In other Leeds United news, one high-priced first-team player is already on the way out but looks set to be back next year.