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Report: Leeds could bring in 40-year-old if Bielsa goes; Orta’s worked with him before

Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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Victor Orta has identified his old mate Diego Martinez as a potential replacement for Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United, as reported by Onda Cero.

Leeds are not the only club sweating over the future of their talismanic head coach.

Like Bielsa, Diego Martinez is out of contract this summer. And, try as they might, Granada just cannot find an agreement despite their ‘tireless attempts’ to tie down the 40-year-old tactician until the summer of 2023.

Onda Cero reports that Valencia, the sleeping giants of Spanish football, are big fans of Martinez and are watching developments closely.

Should Bielsa shuffle off into the sunset, forever to be immortalised as a living legend of Elland Road, Orta could hand the keys over to a man he worked with at La Liga giants Sevilla years ago. 

junior firpo marcelo bielsa leeds
Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

In his first season at the Estadio Nuevo los Carmenes in 2018/19, Martinez led Granada to promotion at the first time of asking. Since then, the Nazaries have taken La Liga by storm, qualifying for Europe for the first time in their 90-year history last term.

It took a couple of brilliant Manchester United goals, from Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani, to knock a typically ferocious Granada side out of the Europa League at the quarter-final stage too.

Furthermore, the likes of Rui Silva, Yangel Herrera and Darwin Machis have played the best football of their careers under Martinez.

The Vigo-born tactician is famed in Spain for his ability to squeeze every drop of quality from a seemingly-limited group of players, all the while presiding over an exciting style of play designed to revolve around the collective rather than the individual.

Sound familiar, Leeds fans?

Alex Dodd – CameraSport/CameraSport via Getty Images