Shock report names reason Bielsa could go, as Barcelona eye Leeds boss

Marcelo Bielsa after Leeds loss to Man Utd August 2021

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa may consider a shock exit from Elland Road if Barcelona come calling with an impressive offer amid Ronald Koeman’s uncertainty, claims a report.

The Argentine manager has performed wonders at Leeds, namely returning the club to the Premier League. As such, he will go down in club folklore no matter how his association with the side ends.

Despite Bielsa insisting that he feels inspired to keep going, his future – from a purely contractual standpoint – has never looked too secure.

Indeed, he has signed only one-year extensions since moving to West Yorkshire in 2018.

What’s more, Bielsa has sometimes decided his fate at the end of seasons, like in May 2019. Although, he only penned his latest extension in August.

Barcelona are one major European club eyeing up a potential new manager. Koeman is under pressure at Camp Nou following a poor start to the campaign.

According to Spanish source Cuatro, Bielsa has remained on the La Liga club’s radar for some time.

And while the manager’s current thinking is towards another extension, the report claims that a tempting offer from Barcelona could see Bielsa leave.

Carlo Ancelotti left Everton in similar shock circumstances earlier this year, to return to Real Madrid.

In any case, the report adds that the potential link with Bielsa and Barcelona ‘never goes away’.

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Leeds proved to be the surprise package upon their return to the Premier League last season. They picked up a string of solid results against the Big Six, for example, and finished ninth.

Furthermore, they finished with the most points of any newly-promoted team since 2000/01.

Barcelona pressure mounting on Koeman

FC Barcelona training camp at the SV Aasen sports field. Ronald Koeman, coach of FC Barcelona, stands on the sports field

Barcelona, meanwhile, sit eighth in La Liga with eight points from four games.

They won two of their first three league games, but a 3-0 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich and a 1-1 draw with Granada has seen the heat rise.

Koeman used a press conference on Wednesday to read out a prepared statement calling for patience, rather than taking questions from the assembled media. He then walked out of the media briefing.

According to another report, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s main target.


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