Leeds United manager news: Carlos Corberan noise grows as West Brom boss becomes ‘serious contender’
Carlos Corberan is the name coming up most of all in the Leeds United managerial race and has to be considered a “serious contender”, according to Dean Jones.
The 40-year-old has a history at Thorp Arch as a coach between 2017 and 2020 and was linked in February when Jesse Marsch was sacked.
Phil Hay in The Athletic (7 June) named the Spaniard alongside Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker as three of the primary options who Angus Kinnear has been scoping the interest of, and according to former Eurosport journalist Jones it is the West Brom boss who looks to be the most prominent.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “Corberan is the one I’ve heard the most about for this job. I don’t know if he’s the favourite for the job, but of the names talked about, they definitely like him.
“They’ve considered him before and kept a close eye on his management style and how he deals with players. I think he’ll be a serious contender.”
Logic
As a young coach who is familiar with Leeds United already, and has done impressive work in the second tier with both Huddersfield and West Brom, Corberan appears to tick plenty of boxes for the Whites.
He signed a new deal at The Hawthorns in February to stop the links to taking over at that point dead in their tracks.
But having missed out on the play-offs with the Baggies he may be tempted to make the move now, given the relative financial positions at the two clubs are thought to be very different.
It will come down to his interest above all if the reported £2million release clause in his contract [Daily Mail, 1 June] is all Leeds have to clear in terms of club-level interactions.
Kinnear will surely have some relationship with Corberan already, so with the CEO set to retain a central role under the new 49ers regime he seems as well placed as anyone to convinced the ex-Olympiacos boss to return.
Considering the manner with which Corberan managed to reverse course with a West Brom squad that looked to be headed for relegation under Steve Bruce to almost force them into the play-offs late on, and with a play-off final at Huddersfield on his record, he would likely be a reassuring appointment for a lot of Whites fans hoping the latest drop from the top flight doesn’t drag on like the last one.
In other Leeds United news, Fabrizio Romano has delivered an Elland Road transfer update that could spell a bidding war.