Leeds United are said to be considering a move for Andoni Iraola after deciding to hand Jesse Marsch his P45.
Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest signalled the end of the American’s time in charge at Elland Road, where he won just eight of his 32 Premier League games in charge of Leeds.
The Athletic believe Leeds are now weighing up an approach for Iraola, who has impressed in Spain as his Rayo Vallecano side currently sit fifth in La Liga.
Presumably, very few Leeds fans will know about the 40-year-old given the fact he has only been in football management since 2018, so let’s take a closer look at what he could bring to Yorkshire.
Andoni Iraola Leeds United
Well, it would make sense if Leeds hired Iraola – he already has a link to the current squad at Elland Road.
The Spaniard was actually teammates with Jack Harrison at New York City, with the pair coincidentally spending the 2016/17 campaign together at the Major League Soccer side.
Iraola – like Harrison – also got the chance to work with Marcelo Bielsa, making 102 appearances under El Loco during his time at Athletic Bilbao.
The Rayo Vallecano boss seemed to enjoy his time working with both Bielsa and Harrison, showering the pair in praise while speaking on Coaches’ Voice.
Iraola said: “Then there were some other players at different stages of their careers. Angeliño, who has gone on to play at RB Leipzig, and also a very young Jack Harrison, who has thrived at Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa – a coach, by the way, who I was lucky enough to work with at Athletic, and I say lucky because it was incredible to be with him.”
Andoni Iraola tactics
Interestingly, it seems Bielsa’s tactical preferences rubbed off on Iraola during their time together in the Basque Country.
The Athletic mention that Iraola adopts a high pressing style, which Leeds fans became well accustomed to during the Argentine’s memorable time in charge at Elland Road.
His tactics have led Rayo Vallecano to fifth in La Liga at the time of writing, which is a superb achievement – qualification for the Champions League is certainly not impossible.
However, The Athletic add that Iraola has admirers at other football clubs across the globe, so if Leeds want him to replace Marsch, they may have to move quickly.
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