Next Leeds manager: Allardyce talks imminent as squad share stance and 49ers consider serious Prem underachiever (original) (raw)
Many of the Leeds United players would be open to Sam Allardyce remaining their manager after their relegation to the Championship, a report has revealed.
Allardyce was in charge of Leeds for the last four games of the 2022-23 Premier League season, but was unable to prevent them from finishing in the bottom three. Therefore, after three seasons back in the top flight, the Whites will be a Championship club again next term.
There won’t be too long for them to plan for their return to the second tier. With that in mind, Leeds quickly need to establish some certainty as to who their manager will be – as well as trying to fill the sporting director vacancy.
Allardyce only ever signed a short-term agreement until June with Leeds. However, an update from The Sun has suggested that several members of the playing squad would like him to stay at the club.
Despite the one-time England manager failing to win any of his four matches in charge, he has made an impression on some Leeds players – certainly more so than his predecessor Javi Gracia did.
For his part, Allardyce is ‘clearly keen’ to keep working with Leeds. He is said to have ‘rediscovered his mojo’ via his brief spell at Elland Road.
An update from the Daily Mail has revealed that Allardyce will hold talks with Leeds tomorrow (Thursday).
Allardyce will hold a ‘debrief’ about his time at the club with Angus Kinnear, but it is ‘unlikely’ to turn into him becoming a candidate to lead Leeds next season.
Kinnear was ‘impressed’ by how Allardyce approached his role. Nevertheless, the chief executive will be exploring other candidates to take the reins.
Leeds sorting ownership situation alongside next manager search
As both sources reflect, things are somewhat up in the air due to the club’s ownership situation. Within the next couple of weeks, Leeds will hope to have some clarity about a potential takeover by the owners of the San Francisco 49ers.
According to The Sun, the potential new owners (who already have a 44 percent stake in the club) could communicate their decision about the managerial position to current chairman, Andrea Radrizzani – who is currently in his native Italy after agreeing his own takeover of an otherwise doomed Sampdoria.
One candidate to replace Allardyce mentioned by The Sun is Steven Gerrard. After doing well with Rangers and winning the Scottish Premiership, the former Liverpool midfielder failed to make the same kind of impression in his first Premier League job.
Indeed, Aston Villa were in a relegation battle under Gerrard before he was replaced by Unai Emery, who turned things around so much that the club ended up qualifying for Europe.
Emery’s subsequent achievement perhaps illustrated how Gerrard was underperforming on the touchline. But the 43-year-old still has plenty of time to earn his stripes in management again.