After talks with Leeds board, manager now ‘very close’ to taking job elsewhere – Has reached agreement

Patrick Vieira is ‘very close’ to becoming the new manager at French side Strasbourg despite holding talks with Leeds United.

That’s according to RMC Sport, who say that all the parties involved are ‘optimistic’ that he will move to the club and snub the apparent interest from Elland Road.

They report that ‘barring any setbacks’ the former Crystal Palace manager will become Frédéric Antonetti’s successor and return to Ligue 1 next season.

He has become the favourite for the job since last night, when fellow candidate Karel Geraerts fell out of the running.

Vieira has reached an agreement in principle with the Alsatian club and has already been in contact with the club’s management.

He’s been out of work since being sacked by Crystal Palace in March and had been linked to Leeds, where he was believed to have interviewed for the job in the last few weeks.

However, nothing appears to have progressed with Leeds, and instead Strasbourg’s new owners, the American consortium BlueCo, who also own Chelsea, have stepped forward to try and secure his signature.

They’re now on the verge of being successful and bringing Vieira back to France for a second spell as a manager there after managing OGC Nice from 2018 to 2020.