Carlton Palmer has offered his thoughts on speculation over Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa’s future.

What’s the talk?

Former Leeds midfielder, Palmer, has allayed fears that the club could lose manager Bielsa to Barcelona.

The Lillywhites head coach has been linked with the top job in Catalonia recently, but Palmer believes that he will stay at Elland Road for at least another season.

He told This is Futbol:

“Well, like I say, you can never say never, but there’s always going to be rumours. If you’re a manager that’s done well or if you’re a player that’s doing well, there’ll be rumours about you.

“I think Bielsa is one of those people. He seems a pretty straight up, straight down type of guy. He’s committed to Leeds for another season and he works from season to season.

“I think unless something drastically happens in terms of his arrangements with the hierarchy at Leeds in terms of recruitment and bringing players in and being able to do the job the way he wants to, I see Bielsa staying at Leeds for another season at least.”

Fans will be buzzing

Leeds fans will surely be buzzing to read this claim from Palmer following speculation over Bielsa’s future at the club. Losing the ex-Marseille manager would be a gigantic blow for the Whites and one that could leave fans feeling devastated, given what he has achieved in his time in Yorkshire.

He has taken the club from years of wallowing in the Championship to playing fast-paced, exciting, football and thriving in the Premier League.

Instead of turgid, boring, football in the second tier playing the likes of – with all due respect to them – Barnsley, Rotherham and Wigan each week, Leeds are going toe to toe with Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea as they compete in the top tier week-in-week-out and that is largely down to Bielsa’s work.

The head coach led Leeds to a third-placed finish – averaging 1.80 points per game – in his first campaign at the club in the Championship, losing in the play-offs to Derby. He was then able to build on that and secure the title the following year, averaging 2.02 points per game as Leeds won the league ahead of the likes of West Brom, Fulham and Brentford – highlighting his influence over the years.

The Argentine was then able to take the next step at Premier League level by keeping Leeds in the top-flight following their promotion. Leeds finished ninth in the 2020/21 season, averaging 1.55 points per game across the campaign.

This is why fans will be buzzing at the prospect of Bielsa staying at Leeds for the rest of this term and then potentially for another year, at least.

He has shown that he is an influential figure at the club as he has achieved relative success in both the Championship and Premier League, which is why supporters will surely want him to stay at Elland Road and would be gutted if he left to join Barcelona.

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