Marcelo Bielsa to Leeds United rumbles on and that was always going to be the case, even if the Argentine eventually takes over at Elland Road.
The manager will want a whole list of assurances made to him over transfers and general control at Leeds and won’t take the job if he’s not happy with the answers. Even then, if he arrives and feels he’s been misled he’ll be straight out the door anyway.
On Tuesday the BBC reported talks continue between the parties, and it was also claimed in Belgium that Bielsa had contacted his former Marseille assistant Jan van Winckel and asked him to move to Leeds, but didn’t get the answer he wanted.
Now Beilsa has surfaced… in Cancun.
El Loco hasn’t been sunning himself on the beach, but rather speaking at a football seminar, sharing his approach to the game and giving a coaching lesson.
Mexico’s Esto report that a big star of the talk was Hector Herrera, the Porto midfielder. Bielsa believes the Mexican international is great in several systems, and Esto suggest it was made clear any manager would want him.
That would in turn suggest Bielsa would look for a similar player for his Leeds United project. Herrera himself only has a year left on his Porto contract, but is club captain and they’ve just won the league. If Bielsa is an ambitious move from Leeds then Herrera would be even more so.
It’s better to look at the type of player, and Herrera is an all-round midfielder, what we all used to call a central midfielder before stars dropped their responsibilities and decided to specialise.
Another Herrera, Ander, is similar in his ability to play a central midfield role, and Bielsa worked well with him at Athletic Club Bilbao, but then he’d be even harder to get than Hector.
Leeds United would therefore have to start searching for a player who is flexible in his midfield role, goes with the tactics the manager sets and understands those tactics well, is totally committed, and full of energy.
