Leeds United in talks for new Elland Road sporting director with senior Brentford man Lee Dykes
Leeds United are looking to fill the sporting director role at Elland Road with Lee Dykes from Brentford and have opened talks, the Daily Mail reports.
The Whites have needed to find a new name for the job since Victor Orta left on 2 May ahead of Javi Gracia’s removal as manager.
Nick Hammond has been brought in on a temporary basis to help oversee the transfer window, but the Whites are now looking to bring in 39-year-old Dykes from Premier League success story Brentford.
The Bees technical director joined in the summer of 2019 as head of scouting before moving into his current role last year.
He had been at Bury the season prior when the club were promoted from League Two, and in his time in West London Brentford have reached two Championship Play-Off finals, been promoted to the Premier League and then finished 13th and 9th under Thomas Frank.
They have signed star men such as Ivan Toney and David Raya since he arrived in 2019.
Gamechanger?
There have been strong links to Daniel Farke’s former Norwich City colleague, and Leeds United supporter, Stuart Webber but he has a lengthy notice period to serve out at Carrow Road.
In the mean time it looks like the Whites have spotted an opportunity to bring in a senior figure from a club that many would see as one of the best run in the top flight.
Brentford have been everything that Leeds haven’t of late, especially in the past couple of seasons, as a stable club which seems to make a success of its transfers, and above all hasn’t been relegated.
Dykes has a very good record and looks like a sensible appointment for the new 49ers regime, once they are eventually given full EFL approval.
So if the club can reach an agreement with him in the current negotiations it would form an encouraging follow-up to the arrival of Farke as manager.
Orta brought in numerous players last season, first with the cash generated with the sales of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips before then breaking the club transfer record in January on Georginio Rutter, and far too many didn’t pay off.
His choice of Jesse Marsch to succeed Marcelo Bielsa ultimately proved a mistake, and his devotion to Gracia as the wheels fell off late in the previous campaign cost him his job under Andrea Radrizzani.
In other Leeds United news, reports of an agreement for one of the signings that did work out is now in dispute as the Whites look to price suitors out.