Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Wednesday, July 5.
Paraag Marathe on Daniel Farke qualities
Leeds United were finally able to confirm the appointment of Daniel Farke as their new manager on Monday evening. The German's appointment came more than a month after Sam Allardyce departed the club following his doomed effort to save the club from relegation and means Leeds can finally begin to step up preparations for the upcoming season.
Leeds had hoped to wait until the 49ers Enterprises takeover was complete until confirming Farke's appointment, but with EFL ratification still ongoing, their hand was forced as they needed the new man in for the players' return to pre-season training at Thorp Arch.
While the EFL saga drags on, Paraag Marathe will have to wait until he becomes chairman, but he was central to the process to appoint Farke and has shared what impressed him about the former Norwich City man.
READ MORE: Leeds United news LIVE: Farke gets to work as Radrizzani reacts to appointment
“After a thorough recruitment process, we are excited to confirm Daniel’s appointment as our first team manager,“ Marathe said following the appointment.
"His record in the Championship is clear, and I am impressed by his leadership and plan to guide us back to the Premier League. “We welcome Daniel and his staff to the club and look forward to a strong season."
Inside Daniel Farke's Leeds United appointment
Thirty-two days after Sam Allardyce’s last day at Leeds United and 33 days before Cardiff City rock up at Elland Road, the Whites finally have a new manager. Daniel Farke, after what has felt like two weeks of rumours and speculation, has been confirmed on the second day of pre-season.
Ultimately, Leeds could not afford to wait any longer. United needed a figurehead on the pitches at Thorp Arch tomorrow when the footballs come out of the bags with the players.
There was testing at Leeds Beckett University on Monday, running at the training ground today, but starting tomorrow without a manager was a step too far. Hopes at boardroom level of a swift takeover process through the EFL have not come to fruition, so 49ers Enterprises has had to swallow its hopes of making Farke its first official decision.
Ultimately, you will struggle to find anyone outside the club caring about the order of announcements and the fact Farke is, technically, Andrea Radrizzani’s appointment. Everyone knows the German is the first hire of the new era, nothing to do with the Italian, but the product of a recruitment hunt led by Angus Kinnear and Paraag Marathe.
What do Leeds United need to do next?
Appointing a new manager was Leeds United’s biggest priority heading into the new Championship season. The Whites parted ways with Sam Allardyce following their Premier League relegation and they have spent the last month looking for a new man to take them into a bright new era under 49ers Enterprises’ ownership.
That search has come to an end with the appointment of Daniel Farke being confirmed earlier today at Elland Road. The German will get to work with his players immediately with pre-season already underway and with the Championship opener against Cardiff City just four and a half weeks away, there’s no time to waste.
He would undoubtedly have liked longer with his squad before the campaign gets going but he’ll hope to have an instant impact on his players at Thorp Arch as he bids to get them ready for their first friendly against Manchester United next Wednesday in Norway. There’s still so much more on Leeds’ to-do list though, before they can be considered ready for the start of the campaign.
