Seemingly destined to be Leeds United manager ever since winning Marcelo Bielsa's endorsement back in 2018, Carlos Corberan has long seemed on a path that will lead him back to Elland Road. The route from Spain to Beeston may have been a complicated one with a surprise Huddersfield Town exit and then short-lived Olympiacos tenure taking him to West Bromwich Albion, but for each move Corberan has taken, he's seemingly never strayed far from the eye of those in charge at Leeds.
Too obvious a decision for Victor Orta to make, the more pragmatic Angus Kinnear is understood to be putting his focus on tried and tested in this country rather than plucking a name from Europe and for that description, Corberan ticks a lot of boxes.
Granted, there is no promotion on his CV, but he took Huddersfield and their low-salary squad all the way to Wembley and the play-off final, while his work in turning the Baggies from relegation contenders to a win away from the play-offs is also noteworthy.
Kinnear is leading the managerial search at Leeds and is believed to have finally got a shortlist together, having spent his time since Leeds' relegation speaking to a number of people either on the shortlist or people connected to those managers, to ascertain the respective desire for the position.
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West Brom are no fools, they know Leeds will coming sniffing and Corberan will have his head turned to some extent. It was for that reason a new deal was offered and signed in February of this year in the wake of Jesse Marcsh's departure from the Whites. That new deal doesn't end matters, however.
The Daily Mail have reported a £2million clause exists which would allow the manager to leave for pastures new. If the Spaniard really is Leeds' man to lead the team under a new ownership with a plan to take them out the Championship and build again in the Premier League, a £2m buyout clause is no sort of obstacle and would easily be met.
Having worked with a number of the players before as both academy coach and Bielsa's assistant, the West Brom boss knows full well the situation he would be walking into, likewise Leeds know what they will be getting. It's the obvious choice.
Obvious doesn't necessarily mean logical or even likely, but there's no surprise Corberan is on the shortlist as Leeds begin to move at a much greater pace in their manager hunt.
