Daniel Farke sack verdict given at Leeds as sudden Marcelo Bielsa rumour sparks hope

Two BBC pundits have urged 49ers Enterprises not to sack Daniel Farke as the Leeds United manager despite the latest defeat to Aston Villa, as rumours about Marcelo Bielsa give the Elland Road faithful hopes of a future Elland Road return.

Leeds suffered their third successive defeat in the Premier League on Sunday, as the West Yorkshire club lost 2-1 to Aston Villa at Elland Road. The result means that Farke’s side are now third from bottom in the league table with 11 points from 12 matches, level on points with 17^th-placed West Ham United.

Sources told TEAMtalk during the latest international break that Leeds have no plans to sack Farke in the immediate future.

49ers Enterprises expected the team to be where they are in the league table at this stage of the season and are aware that they left Farke short of attacking options in the summer of 2025.

However, the pressure on Farke is only going to increase with every defeat, but Danny Murphy and Aidy White believe that Leeds should stick with the German manager.

While former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Murphy thinks that the Leeds players are still behind Farke based on the performance against Villa, White, an ex-Elland Road star, has noted that a new manager is unlikely to win the next three league fixtures.

Leeds will take on Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next three Premier League games.

Murphy told BBC Sport: “Farke is under pressure because of Leeds’ run of bad results, but that was a bunch of players, a team, playing for their manager, and they were unlucky to lose the game. They didn’t deserve to lose it.

“There was a great tactical plan in the first half to condense the space and stop Villa playing through the lines to get the ball to John McGinn and Emi Buendia coming in off those wide areas, and they won the ball back time and time again.

“The Villa equaliser early in the second half took the wind out of their sails, but I thought Leeds recovered really well and even when they went 2-1 down they threw the kitchen sink at Villa. If it wasn’t for Martinez, they would have got something out of the game.

“That performance did not warrant that reaction from the Leeds fans, it was probably an accumulation of weeks of poor performances. But if they were turning up to see a reaction, and to see if the team was willing to fight and give everything for the manager and the fans, they did.

“If they play like that every week, I think they will be OK.”

White said on BBC Radio Leeds: “He’s reluctant to change shape, to change the dynamic.

“For me, replacing the manager, I’m not sure it’s definitely the right thing to do now, given the games we have coming up.

“If you want a bounce back from a manager going into Man City away, Chelsea and Liverpool at home, it’s going to be difficult to find a manager who wants to come in for those games.”

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New Marcelo Bielsa rumour emerges

If Leeds do decide to pull the trigger and bring in a new manager, then the Elland Road faithful would love for 49ers Enterprises to appoint Marcelo Bielsa.

Bielsa is a club legend who masterminded Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League in 2020 after 16 years away from the English top flight.

The 70-year-old’s football at Leeds was hugely entertaining, and fans absolutely love the Argentine.

Bielsa is in charge of Uruguay at the moment and has publicly said that he will not leave until at least after the 2026 World Cup finals next summer.

That statement came in a recent press conference in which Bielsa described himself as “toxic”, suggesting that not all is well in the Uruguay camp.

The Mirror quotes Bielsa as saying: “From the conversation. I spoke for many hours with the president, and with Jorge [Giordano].

“The conclusion of the conversation is that the project continues exactly as planned until the World Cup

“That is the summary and final conclusion of the conversation with the president.

“Therefore, I’m passing on that information; that is how the conversation ended.”

According to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon on Patreon, ‘several’ clubs are alert to the current situation of Bielsa and are keeping tabs on the former Leeds boss.

There are clubs in the Premier League who are monitoring Bielsa, but whether Leeds are among them has not been mentioned.

Could a return to Leeds happen for Bielsa? Well, there is one scenario where it could be possible.

If Leeds sack Farke and appoint a new interim manager until the end of the season to keep the club in the Premier League, then the Whites could bring Bielsa back after the World Cup.

Bielsa took charge of Leeds when they were in the Championship, and he could be tempted to do it again even if the Whites get relegated from the Premier League.

Latest Leeds transfer news: Aston Villa competition, Brendan Rodgers cost

Meanwhile, Leeds are facing competition from Aston Villa for a Real Madrid striker that the Whites plan to make an ‘imminent’ bid for.

TEAMtalk understands that Leeds are among the clubs keen on a striker that Tottenham Hotspur offloaded in 2024.

And finally, the cost of appointing Brendan Rodgers as Daniel Farke’s potential replacement at Leeds has been revealed.