Leeds United are on the verge of appointing Jesse Marsch as their new manager – and he is a huge fan of Weston McKennie, who has been linked with a move to Elland Road.
The Whites made the difficult decision to part ways with Marcelo Bielsa on Sunday, making a change after Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
That result made it 14 goals conceded in just three games, and one point taken in the last six Premier League outings.
Leeds are mired in the relegation battle and felt they needed to change things up to give themselves a chance of survival.
So who comes in to replace Bielsa?
It looks like American coach Jesse Marsch is heading to Elland Road. Victor Orta has fancied Marsch for a couple of years now having struck up a friendship.
Marsch has been out of work since December having quickly lost his job as boss of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
The 48-year-old excelled in charge of Red Bull Salzburg though, winning two league titles whilst impressing in the Champions League.
More recently, Marsch has been around the media. Earlier this month, The Athletic spoke to Marsch about the Champions League knockout stages.
In that piece, Marsch admitted that he ‘loves’ Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, even if he admits his fellow American can be ‘outstanding one day, flat the next’.
That’s an interesting note given that Leeds director of football Orta seemingly fancies signing McKennie for the Whites.
The Sun reported in December that Leeds were eyeing a January deal for McKennie, with a £20million asking price on his head.
Leeds were keen for more running power in midfield but couldn’t secure a deal for McKennie, who stayed at Juventus.
Currently out injured having picked up a blow against Villarreal last week, McKennie could still be moved on this summer.
McKennie has never managed to make himself a key player at Juventus, despite his energy and drive in midfield.
That means Juventus may look to cash in for good offer, and Leeds will surely still be in the hunt.
It’s clear that Marsch thinks highly of McKennie, so having the chance to work with him at Elland Road could be ideal.
If Leeds stay up, Marsch may well push for Leeds to secure McKennie after all, with Leeds in desperate need of more midfield quality.
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