Leeds put pursuit of Azzedine Ounahi on hold - Mail 16/1/23

Leeds put their pursuit of Moroccan World Cup star Azzedine Ounahi on hold... with the club unsure about adding another player to under-fire manager Jesse Marsch's squad

Leeds have been pursuing a move for Azzedine Ounahi throughout this month

They have now decided to put their pursuit of the midfielder on hold

This decision has been made due to the uncertainty surrounding Jesse Marsch

Marsch has been questioned by some fans after Leeds' poor run of form

By SIMON JONES

Leeds have put talks over a move for Angers midfielder Azzedine Ounahi on hold as they take stock of their squad and Jesse Marsch's future.

A section of fans called for Marsch to be sacked following Friday's defeat at Aston Villa and questions have been raised about whether the American can get the best out of his squad.

Leeds agreed to pay £35.5m for Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim last week, and also signed Red Bull Salzburg centre-back Max Wober earlier in the month.

However, the club have decided to hold fire before pursuing a deal for Morocco international Ounahi who has interest from Napoli and Leicester.

Ounahi starred for Morocco at the World Cup, starting six of his team's seven matches in Qatar.

Morocco became the first African nation ever to make the semi-finals of the World Cup, with Ounahi striking up a formidable partnership in midfield with Sofyan Amrabat.

It appeared that Ounahi could be on his way to Elland Road this month to help Leeds in their battle to avoid relegation, but the Premier League outfit have taken a step back for now.

Leeds have failed to win any of their last five league matches, and are just two points above the bottom three.

Marsch remained upbeat after their latest loss at Villa, but time is running out for him to start delivering positive results.

The 49-year-old kept Leeds up on the final day of last season, but has been unable to build on that, and the team look set for another scrap for survival in the second half of the campaign.

Leeds face an FA Cup replay with Cardiff on Wednesday before hosting Brentford in the league four days later, and these two games could go some way to determining Marsch's future.