What does the future hold for Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United?
Marcelo Bielsa would not have returned for a second season at Leeds if he did not believe that he could get the club promoted, says Michael Brown.
The Argentine’s arrival at Elland Road in the summer of 2018 caused quite a stir, with the former Atletic Bilbao and Marseille boss taking on a second tier challenge in England.
Ambition in West Yorkshire tempted him into a surprise role, with Leeds crying out for a talisman to carry them back to the Premier League.
Bielsa fell narrowly short in his debut campaign, with a play-off hurdle tripping him up, but he is honouring a two-year deal.
Former Whites midfielder Brown expects another lofty standing to be secured in 2019/20 and is not convinced that the future of an enigmatic figure is necessarily promotion dependent.
Brown told HITC Sport during a phone interview when quizzed on Bielsa’s future: “Would he have moved or gone on to somewhere else this season? He stayed and it’s a team he wants to try and get promotion.
“I think he would have left if he didn’t belief he could do it. So he believes it’s there for them and looking at it now, nobody wants to win it. It’s wide open, it’s still there and do I expect Leeds United to be in and around it? I do.
“There has been a lot of talk about investment, will there be some in January because maybe they didn’t get things over the line last January and that cost them.
“If they can get a little bit of help, maybe defensively – [Gaetano] Berardi’s had a red, [Liam] Cooper’s got a muscle tear – so they might need a little bit of help in a few key areas.”
Leeds lifted themselves back into the Championship’s top two on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Birmingham.
A place in the automatic promotion spots will be cemented if another success can be secured on Tuesday when the Whites take in a visit to Preston.
Michael Brown was a pundit on EFL on Quest live from The University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday, the home of Bolton Wanderers. Watch all the highlights every Saturday at 9pm. Also available via desktop and app on QuestOD.
https://www.questod.co.uk/
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
