Celta Vigo are reportedly in ‘advanced’ talks to replace Carlos Carvalhal with the Leeds United linked manager potentially set to swap La Liga for the Championship.
Now, Carlos Carvalhal is not exactly an appointment which screams ‘ambition’.
Especially when you consider that, not so long ago, Leeds United were being linked with the likes of Arne Slot (an Eredivisie champion with Feyenoord), the extremely highly-rated Andoni Iraola and even Philippe Clement, a three-time winner of the Belgian top-flight.
What Carvalhal lacks in glamour, however, he makes up for with a proven track record in this most difficult of divisions.
Could Leeds United really hire Carlos Carvalhal?
The 57-year-old guided Leeds’ Yorkshire neighbours, Sheffield Wednesday, to the Championship play-off final in 2016. Wednesday finished in the top six again the following season, this time knocked out in the semis by Huddersfield Town.
Carvalhal was reportedly on Burnley’s radar before the Clarets appointed Vincent Kompany last year. And, according to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, he is now emerging as an option for a Leeds side hoping to emulate Championship champions Burnley by bouncing back at the first time of asking.
Carvalhal is currently under contract for a further 12 months at Celta Vigo. Despite saving the Galician outfit on the final day of a tumultuous campaign – their dramatic 2-1 win over Barcelona sending Real Valladolid down instead – the well-travelled Portuguese is expected to be let go.
Las Palmas boss Francisco Garcia Pimienta is his likely replacement. The Canary lslanders, per Marca, believe that talks between Pimienta and Celta are already at an ‘advanced’ stage.
“At this moment, it’s not clear to me if I want to stay at Celta. I don’t want to experience a situation like this next year,” a relieved and exhausted Carvalhal told Cope on Sunday.
“To be at a club, I need a budget that satisfy me. For the rest, we have to talk. I don’t cling to contracts. I never have.
“It depends on objectives, the players, the conditions. And, on the contrary, if the board thinks that (my time at Celta) is over, we will solve it in a minute.”
Marca add that Diego Martinez and the aforementioned Iraola are also candidates to take over at Balaidos.
Leeds, meanwhile, confirmed the departure of interim boss Sam Allardyce recently. Steven Gerrard, a free agent after a disappointing spell at Aston Villa, is emerging as a leading candidate to take over at Elland Road.
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