Future plans between Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa have hit the headlines in every year of his tenure, but serious candidates for succession are emerging for the first time.
Bielsa knows his future is always going to be up for discussion because of the 12-month contracts he signs, and a club of United’s size cannot afford to be caught short in whichever summer the head coach moves on.
The Daily Telegraph has reported twice already this month on the succession planning going on at Elland Road. First, there was a shortlist and then today Jesse Marsch has been branded the club’s first choice.
There are still more than four months between now and the end of Bielsa’s current contract. A lot can happen on and off the pitch in that time.
While there is still plenty of belief inside Elland Road Bielsa could look to add a fifth campaign to his CV, it is not a subject matter which will get the Argentine’s serious consideration until the football finishes.
Victor Orta, naturally, will keep himself abreast of the wider coaching market and ensure he keeps the club prepared for the day Bielsa’s era ends.
Marsch is understood to be one of several names Orta admires and knows well in coaching circles. He is out of work and well known for playing a brand of football not too dissimilar to Bielsa’s.
The American would tick a lot of boxes if and when United come to moving on from the Bielsa era, but if that were to happen this summer there is no guarantee Marsch would even still be out of work then.
For now, attention remains firmly fixed on the job at hand, but Orta would not be doing his job properly if the likes of Marsch were not on his radar ahead of the day Bielsa and Leeds end their partnership, whenever that may be.
