Leeds were right to pick Paul Heckingbottom over Victor Sanchez

Follow us on Google Discover

Victor Sanchez claims Leeds United were interested in his services.

Leeds United swooped to appoint Paul Heckingbottom as their new manager last week, but it seems that he wasn’t the only man in the frame to replace Thomas Christiansen in the Elland Road dugout.

The Whites sacked Christiansen nine days ago following a 4-1 home defeat to Cardiff City, and moved quickly to lure Heckingbottom across Yorkshire from Barnsley as his replacement.

Heckingbottom opened with a 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon, and Leeds will now be looking to kick on and find their first win under their new manager, though it seems that another manager was in the frame.

Spaniard Victor Sanchez has this week told Spanish newspaper AS that he was contacted by Leeds about the job after Christiansen’s exit, but they ended up going with Heckingbottom.

Sanchez noted that he has never forgotten about the atmosphere at Elland Road having played there in the Champions League with Deportivo La Coruna, meaning he would have surely loved to take the job.

However, Sanchez’s managerial record is far from impressive. The former Real Madrid midfielder has held just three managerial jobs so far, and each of them come with a major warning sign for any interested clubs.

The 41-year-old took charge of Deportivo in 2015, but won just 10 of his 50 games in charge, leaving him with a 20% win rate, before heading to Olympiacos in Greece, where he lasted just two games, winning neither of them before being sacked.

In November 2016, Sanchez returned to management with Real Betis, but managed to claim just eight wins in 29 games, resulting in a 27.6% win rate, meaning that he has won just 22% of his games as a manager.

After the gamble on Christiansen didn’t pay off, Leeds would have been foolish to take another punt for their next appointment, with Sanchez’s lack of success – coupled with Heckingbottom’s experience in the Championship – suggesting that owner Andrea Radrizzani made a smart choice on paper.