Tenterhooks continue to take the weight of Leeds United as ears await the phone call which ends their anxiety. Andrea Radrizzani or 49ers Enterprises, who is going to be running the show in the Championship next season?
The decision will take as long as it takes. Radrizzani and Paraag Marathe, the face of Enterprises, will know time is of the essence for whoever has majority control for the new season.
Yet, when it comes to money and doing this deal, cash is king and this uncertainty is only resolved when all parties are satisfied with the financial reality of it. There is quiet confidence the 49ers group will ultimately get the deal over the line at Elland Road, but awareness Radrizzani could yet go in either direction, especially with this unpredictable Sampdoria narrative rumbling on.
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While the club’s two shareholders resolve their boardroom situation, chief executive Angus Kinnear is working to keep the show moving forward on the ground. Once the ownership situation finds a resolution, the next pieces in the jigsaw need to be ready to slot in as quickly as possible.
Kinnear is understood to have already held exploratory talks with prospective head coaches and shortlists had been compiled for either relegation or survival ahead of last weekend. While a final decision will not be made on the next man in the dugout until the ownership is decided, Kinnear has at least begun a dialogue with some.
There is every chance a head coach or manager is appointed before a director of football. The actual hierarchy the club pursues remains up in the air, but it could well shift away from a position which commanded as much power as Victor Orta had.
Duties may well be split across extra roles with football operations and recruitment potentially separated. In Orta’s absence, Kinnear has temporarily picked up the recruitment slack.
The chief executive has begun putting together the nuts and bolts of a relegation summer which requires a rebuild. Agents are already reaching out to him, while expectations of how this current squad will be reshaped are forming.
While the likes of Gaby Ruiz and Alberto Cordero followed Orta out of the door at Elland Road this month, head of emerging talent Craig Dean, loans manager Andrew Taylor and scouts Andrea Iore and Alex Davies remain in place. Recruitment meetings chaired by Kinnear have continued.
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