With Leeds United sitting pretty in the Premier League and relegation extremely unlikely, attention is slowly but surely turning towards the summer.
That’s what Marcelo Bielsa’s contract is set to expire, with the Argentine yet to sign an extension to his deal at Elland Road.
So far there has been little to no comment on the future of the Leeds boss, who, as is his nature, prefers to focus on his team and their performances on the pitch than any potential drama involving himself off of it.
The fact is, though, Bielsa’s future is a major thing. He’s proven absolutely vital to Leeds since his arrival, with the club, their philosophy and pretty much everything in between centred around their coach and his ideas.
Losing him would be a major blow to their plans but, according to AS in Argentina, that seems very unlikely to happen.
They explain Bielsa doesn’t like to look at the long-term and prefer to see his projects take shape season after season, something he’s shown by insisting the present is the most important for him when asked about his contract in press conferences.
He has also indicated he would be happy to stay, though, and AS point out that there is no doubt his Leeds team continue to show ‘growth’, a pleasing aspect for the coach.
Similarly, this Leeds have proved to be a ‘close-knit club’ since his arrival, with Bielsa having ‘never tired’ of letting people know how comfortable he is with the board.
That is something that also extends to his relationship with the players, creating an excellent environment and leading Bielsa to his longest stint in one place thus far.
Another positive point is Leeds taking things step by step. They have impressed in the Premier League so far, and while this has altered the perception of what their aims should be, the club have remained resolute.
They’ve made it clear that they the most important thing is to stay up and ‘grow’ from that point, or, in other words, ‘not to fly before you start running’.
Keeping their feet on the ground is crucial for both Bielsa and the club to be able to consider their future goals and ‘continue to evolve’.
In other words, everything at Leeds is exactly how Bielsa would want it, with every aspect of the club having proved ‘faithful’ to what he wants from day one.
The Leeds project ‘maintains an absolute commitment from all the parts that compose it’ and, as such, Bielsa is not worried about his future in the slightest.
The fact he has remained to this point, and there is no mention of an exit is seen as a big plus point, with it explained there is no need for ‘alarmism’ about the end of his contract
Indeed, according to AS, with Bielsa ‘good things come to those who wait’ and Leeds ‘should not be worried’ about his future as a result.
