Diego Martinez in danger of being relegated after he was expected to become Leeds United boss

Follow us on Google Discover

Leeds United and Victor Orta have admired Diego Martinez but the Spanish coach is in danger of being relegated with Espanyol.

Leeds continue their search for a new manager after sacking Jesse Marsch last week.

The sheer number of targets who have fallen by the wayside is quite staggering now; Carlos Corberan, Arne Slot, Andoni Iraola and Alfred Schreuder spring to mind.

Michael Skubala remains in temporary charge of Leeds and it’s unclear just where Leeds can turn next in their managerial hunt.

One name Victor Orta has really liked is Diego Martinez.

90Min reported in February of last year that Orta and his team like Martinez and he was considered as a replacement for Marcelo Bielsa.

Diario de Cádiz even reported that Martinez was expected to join Leeds but that didn’t happen as the Whites went for Marsch instead.

Martinez had built up a great reputation at Granada and could still be on Orta’s radar for the job – but he is enduring a real struggle.

Diego Martinez in danger of relegation after Leeds interest

Martinez worked wonders at Granada, winning promotion in 2019 to then take Granada into the quarter-finals off the Europa League in 2021.

That was a miraculous rise and Martinez decided to leave Granada when his contract expired at the end of last season.

There was a surprise move in the offing though as Martinez moved on to Espanyol rather than head to England.

A quick glance at the La Liga table shows that Martinez isn’t quite enjoying the same success at Espanyol.

Just four wins from 21 games means Espanyol sit 17th in La Liga, only one point clear of the relegation zone.

Martinez is hanging onto his job for now but if Espanyol continue to struggle for points, they may well be forced to act.

Martinez looked set for a bright future in management but the threat of dropping into Spain’s second tier now looms large.

Leeds are desperate for a managerial solution but the window for Martinez to make the move to Elland Road may well have closed.