Leeds United manager news: Phil Hay shares update amid links to Daniel Farke
Leeds United are reportedly prioritising a move for a new manager ahead of a sporting director after the San Francisco 49ers took over.
Phil Hay, in his Athletic piece on 14 June, discussed the possibilities of bringing former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke to Elland Road.
Stuart Webber, their director, has handed in his resignation and is also linked to an Elland Road switch, but Leeds are understood to be looking to finalise their new manager first in the coming days.
Hay wrote, “While 49ers Enterprises has major plans for Leeds, the most critical priority is to make sure the club can compete for Championship promotion next season. Leeds would be prepared to wait for the person who suits them best if they can find an immediate solution in the meantime.
“Prior to his resignation, Webber had been discussed by Leeds as a viable successor for Orta. But for the past two weeks, more attention has been paid to securing a new head coach; a decision Leeds would like to reach in the coming days.
“As it happens, Farke is in the running. But while Webber to Leeds is not out of the question, it remains to be seen if the time is now.”
Leeds need to have a sporting director in place who can aid the board in bringing in the next manager.
The new owners surely will have a playing philosophy in mind and short-term goals for the club after taking over from Andrea Radrizzani.
They may pay the price for putting such a short deadline on their new managerial appointment as they need to go through a thorough process before deciding on who they want.
Ideally, decisions to bring in the new manager are left to sporting directors or people in similar positions with the owners stepping back.
However, it seems like the San Francisco 49ers want to be hands on with the next managerial appointment and then bring in a sporting director for the recruitment.
It may not be the worst idea in the world, but it remains to be seen who they have on board to make these big decisions as they’re not experts at football.
They’re an NFL franchise and their expertise is in American Football even though they’ve held a stake in Leeds for the past few years.
In other Leeds United news, a BBC pundit has been left stunned as Phil Hay has dropped a fresh update on who the Whites are considering bringing in as manager this summer.