Leeds United will hope to keep Marcelo Bielsa at the club beyond the end of the season, but no decision has yet been made.
The Argentinian has given fans an entertaining first season back in the Premier League, but his contract expires this summer – and it’s unclear whether or not he will be back.
If you had to guess, you would assume he will return for at least another year, but Victor Orta wouldn’t be doing his job if he wasn’t looking at potential replacements.
Tuttomercatoweb now claim that meetings have been held between Leeds and the representatives of Paulo Fonseca, most likely his agent Marco Abreu.
Crystal Palace, Napoli and Nice are also thought to be interested, but the links to Leeds suggest that he is one of the names wanted just in case Bielsa does leave.
Big news came on Tuesday as Roma confirmed that Fonscea will leave his post as their manager this summer, and will be replaced by Jose Mourinho.
So just who is Fonseca, and what could Leeds fans expect if he ends up making the move to Elland Road?
The 48-year-old had a somewhat nomadic spell in Portugal, going from Aves to Pacos de Ferreira to Porto, back to Pacos de Ferreira and onto Braga all inside four years.
Fonseca’s most impressive role so far has been with Shakhtar Donetsk, where he lost just 17 of his 139 games in charge across all competitions, winning three league titles in the process.
The Mozambique-born boss is a progressive coach who has implemented an attractive style of play, which may be why Orta is looking towards him as a possible Bielsa successor.
What’s interesting is that Fonseca admitted last month that he had been watching Leeds and their man-to-man style under Bielsa, suggesting that it’s a difficult style to play against.
Fonseca is unlikely to out of a job for long, and having become available on Tuesday, he may well be near the top of Leeds’ list – but they will still be hoping for good news from Bielsa first.
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