Speaking on Off The Ball, Ben Jacobs has been discussing the Aston Villa managerial role and Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentine has been out of work for eight months now after being sacked by Leeds United, and he could be set for a return to English football with Villa.
Indeed, Jacobs says that the South American is one to keep an eye on as the Midlands club search for Steven Gerrard’s replacement, stating that the shortlist of candidates was drawn up weeks ago, and Bielsa is seemingly on that list.
Bielsa to Villa?
Jacobs says that Bielsa is a candidate for the vacant Villa Park post.
“Sean Dyche will be linked to Aston Villa as well, and then an outsider to keep an eye on is Marcelo Bielsa, the former Leeds manager. It’s an open race at the moment, but a lot of the legwork in terms of shortlists and candidates was done weeks ago,” Jacobs said.
Controversial
This would be a bit of a controversial appointment to say the least.
Many Leeds fans expected Bielsa to never manage in England again after leaving Elland Road, while Bielsa himself has something of a chequered history with the Villans.
Indeed, back in 2019 you’ll remember a controversial goal being scored in the Championship game between Leeds and Aston Villa as the Whites netted while Anwar El Ghazi was down injured.
Bielsa then ordered his team to allow Villa to score, causing more furore between the two sides, and while this was a very sporting act, Villa fans still held a bit of bad blood towards Bielsa.
However, if that can be condemned to the past, Villa will be getting a brilliant coach here, but, in our view, this is rather unlikely. After all, the Argentine has never been a fan of taking a job mid-season, but with the World Cup on the horizon, Bielsa could treat that as a mini pre-season, so perhaps this does have some legs to it.
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