Darren Bent says he is 'really surprised' not to see former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl as one of the favourites to replace Jesse Marsch at Elland Road.
Leeds have seen their attempts to appoint Carlos Corberan and Andoni Iraola knocked back in recent days, as the search for a new manager rumbles on. Ex-Leeds assistant and under-23 head coach Corberan penned a new contract at West Brom on Tuesday, while the Whites' approach for Iraola has been blocked by Rayo Vallecano.
Feyenoord boss Arne Slot is currently the leading favourite, while former River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo features highly on the bookmakers' list of candidates at 3/1 on Sky Bet. Hasenhuttl has not been one of the top targets for the Leeds board, which has come as a surprise to former England, Sunderland and Tottenham forward Bent.
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“I am really surprised that he is not one of the favourites because he knows the Premier League, he has good results in the Premier League. I think he is a good manager," Bent told talkSPORT. "Why would they not go for him? For me, if I was the Leeds owner, and I am not, I would be going for Ralph Hasenhuttl.”
Hasenhuttl was the top candidate for the Hoffenheim job earlier this week following the sacking of Andre Breitenreiter at the PreZero Arena. But Hasenhuttl turned down the managerial vacancy, which has now been filled by former VfB Stuttgart boss Pellegrino Matarazzo.
The 55-year-old boasted top-flight experience in Germany with Ingolstadt and RB Leipzig respectively prior to his arrival in the Premier League in December 2018. He guided Ingolstadt to the 2. Bundesliga title in 2015 and helped RB Leipzig finish runners-up behind Bayern Munich in their debut season in the Bundesliga.
He steered Southampton to safety in each of his first four seasons at the helm, and even inspired them to an 11th place finish in 2019/20. Hasenhuttl was sacked by Saints following a run of just one win in nine league games (D2 L6) in November, which left them 18th in the table.
However, Southampton have plummeted to the foot of the Premier League since his departure - losing six of their last seven league games under his successor Nathan Jones.
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