Leeds United’s attempt to hire Andoni Iraola at a standstill - The Athletic 9/2/23
By Phil Hay
Leeds United’s attempt to appoint Andoni Iraola as their
next head coach is at a standstill despite a bid to secure a deal over the past
24 hours.
Iraola, 40, was identified by Leeds as a leading candidate
to replace Jesse Marsch at Elland Road, but negotiations to secure his exit
from Rayo Vallecano have failed to make progress.
Director of football Victor Orta was in Spain yesterday to
try and advance talks but flew back to England without an agreement in place.
Orta was present at Old Trafford for Leeds’ 2-2 draw with
Manchester United on Wednesday night.
The Premier League club were optimistic that Iraola would be
keen on the post — made vacant by Marsch’s sacking on Monday — but Rayo
Vallecano, who appointed the former Athletic Bilbao defender in 2020 and are
fifth in La Liga, are fighting to retain him with European qualification a
serious possibility.
Leeds hoped to have a replacement for Marsch lined up before
the end of the weekend and are still attempting to secure a new boss in that
timeframe.
Feyenoord’s Arne Slot, a name linked over the past few days,
has been the subject of discussions among the hierarchy at Elland Road,
although the expectation at the start of the week was that he would not exit
the Eredivisie leaders mid season.
Work on the appointment is set to continue on Thursday.
Leeds, meanwhile, remain in the caretaker hands of Michael Skubala, Chris Armas
and Paco Gallardo who guided the squad to a draw at Old Trafford yesterday.
The three-man team are continuing to take training and
Skubala is likely to fulfill the club’s media duties tomorrow ahead of a home
clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
Leeds will ask him to take caretaker charge of that fixture
again if a new head coach is not in place.
