Leeds United to make manager appointment before Sunday, Paraag Marathe to jet away
Leeds United are hopeful of making a managerial appointment before Sunday, with vice-chairman Paraag Marathe set to jet back to America, according to journalist Graham Smyth.
49ers Enterprises have now firmly placed their attention on filling the vacant managerial hot seat after Sam Allardyce’s departure, with Daniel Farke and Patrick Vieira the top two targets.
The Whites are believed to be in search of appointing a manager currently out of work, ruling West Brom manager Carlos Corberan out of the race, but former Crystal Palace manager Vieira has now emerged as a “serious contender”.
And according to Smyth, speaking on the Yorkshire Evening Post Leeds United podcast [22 June, 3m:45sec], the Whites are looking to secure their ideal appointment before Sunday.
He said: “Leeds are not at the end of the interview process, but they are hopeful that by the end of the weekend certainly, they will have something in place.
“Paraag is due to fly back I think at some point this weekend or Monday and really they want to have it done and dusted by the time he goes back.
“What we’re hearing is that it’s been a very very thorough process, there’s been a lot of data, and the key thought has been who is best placed to get us out of the Championship at the first attempt.”
Go for Farke
With a gruelling and testing Championship campaign on the horizon, this may well prove to be one of the most important decisions over the past decade for Leeds United, especially with ambitions to make an immediate Premier League return.
The pressure is certainly on 49ers Enterprises, after their confirmed full takeover, to make the right choice in regards to the new boss as it could potentially have a positive or negative domino effect on how things pan out from here on in.
The appeal to appoint Vieira is there, given the job he underwent at Crystal Palace but the way they tailed off during the latter stages of his reign in South London could leave some doubts in the mind of the Leeds United fanbase. And the data that the Leeds United board has looked at should make that clear.
The Whites need a manager with the right winning mentality, character and most of all experience at this level, and Vieira certainly doesn’t have the latter calling card in his pocket.
Farke, given his tremendous jobs at Norwich City should be the ideal candidate. He’s proven an absolute master at this level, plays an attractive brand of football, and could well be given the resources to make Leeds United a fortress should they return to the Premier League next season – something he didn’t have at Carrow Road.
The 49ers must choose wisely.
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.