Next Leeds United manager: Paul Heckingbottom told to say no to a possible approach

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Darren Bent says if he is Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom, then he would ‘stay where I am’ if Leeds United came knocking to be their next manager, as he told talkSPORT (07/02/23).

Back in 2018, for a brief period, Heckingbottom took the reigns at Elland Road, after punching above the weight of Barnsley in the Championship.

At the time, the Yorkshire-born manager walked into a bit of a mess at Leeds and it needed clearing up.

Now, with the new ownership on board, they decided to go in a different direction, relieve Heckingbottom of his duties, even though he didn’t do much wrong and appoint Marcelo Bielsa.

Well, the rest is history, in that regard.

Since then, the 45-year-old has worked in Scotland and he is now sitting second in the Championship with Sheffield United, ten points clear of third-placed Middlesbrough, who have played a game extra.

As a result of all of that, Bent asked, if Leeds came knocking for the Blades boss, why he wouldn’t take the gig across Yorkshire.

“I would stay where I am,” said Bent. “Where is he going? My problem is, when you talk about Sheffield United and Burnley.

“Burnley are on 65 points and Sheffield United are on 58. They have games in hand of third, who is Middlesbrough, who are on 48, so Sheffield United have a ten-point gap over third and Burnley almost have a 20-point gap.

“Them two managers, Heckingbottom and Vincent Kompany. Why will they leave their post now, to take a job that’s fighting relegation, when they can pass them on their way up?!

“Burnley and Sheffield United can get promoted. Leeds can come down, so they are back to square one.”

LEEDS CAN AIM HIGHER

Now, nothing suggests that Leeds are looking to hire Heckingbottom as their next manager or even have him on their wishlist.

Either way, they can and should aim much, much higher than that. This is the time for the club to go to the next level.

The Whites are back in the big time, they are trying to get that stability back, and if they want to go higher, such as back in Europe, then like Aston Villa have done with Unai Emery, they should look for that proven and possibly trophy-winning manager.