Leeds United manager news as Tuesday deadline emerges at Thorp Arch
Leeds United need a new manager in charge, either permanently or temporarily with pre-season set to begin on Tuesday 4 July, according to The Yorkshire Post.
Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth told the Leeds United News podcast [29 June], the American consortium 49ers desperately want to make an announcement over their managerial appointment but can’t with EFL yet to approve their official full takeover.
The Daily Mail [23 June] reported former Norwich City boss Daniel Farke as the leading candidate following a meeting on Friday 23 June, and according to the outlet on 29 June, the German was shown around Thorp Arch ahead of appointing him manager.
And according to Last Word of Sports sources [29 June], a press conference was arranged to announce a new appointment, which should be Farke but it remains to be seen whether the German will be appointed before Tuesday’s pre-season deadline when official coaching begins, according to The Yorkshire Post [1 July].
Should the worst happen, the Whites may be forced to call upon former interim manager Michael Skubala to oversee early preparations before the 49ers can announce Farke as manager.
Race against time
Leeds United and the 49ers desperately face a race against time to get their new manager announced before Tuesday 4 July with pre-season preparations set to get underway.
This new snag with the EFL has certainly slowed down matters and it is really not promising news with the 49ers desperate to make a swift impact under their new regime and that desperation is made all the more crucial with Leeds United wanting a swit Premier League return by the end of the new campaign.
For that to happen, things need to drastically change at Elland Road, and rather quickly with the club set to lose several of their key stars this summer because of their Championship plight.
Whether that damages Farke’s preparations for the campaign is another matter entirely, but Leeds United need to quickly rebuild the squad in order to ensure they are challenging from the off when the season kicks off and that means they must recruit players swiftly and efficiently.
Once this EFL hold-up is lifted, the pressure really intensifies for the American consortium. To have Skubala take pre-season preparations on Tuesday really doesn’t make for promising reading with a gruelling and testing Championship campaign just around the corner.
In other Leeds United news, the club are set to react to an impending Elland Road exodus with “ambitious” incoming transfer plans.