Leeds manager search: Ben Jacobs says Pedro Martins ‘in the mix’ at Elland Road

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Leeds United remain in pursuit of a new manager, over a week after parting company with Jesse Marsch.

Plenty of names have been linked with the Elland Road names, but some of these have since dwindled away.

At present, Nuno Espirito Santo’s name is doing the rounds as a potential new appointment for Leeds.

Now, Ben Jacobs has claimed that Pedro Martins’ name has also been “creeping into the mix” at Elland Road.

The 52-year-old currently manages Qatari club Al-Gharafa and previously coached Greek giants Olympiacos.

Jacobs, writing on GiveMeSport, also feels Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou would be a great shout for Leeds.

At the same time, the CBS journalist suggested that this may not be likely at this moment in time.

“Another name creeping into the mix is Pedro Martins,” wrote Jacobs.

“But I think that Ange Postecoglou would be another great option.

“Whether he leaves Celtic remains to be seen, he’s doing very well there.

“He was asked about the vacancy and replied, as you would expect, saying simply that he’s got one focus and it is on Celtic Football Club.”

‘Offensive style of football’

Postecoglou would be the ideal appointment for Leeds, but he seems eager to stay at Celtic for the time being.

Martins is a more realistic option at this moment in time, and he wouldn’t be a bad shout for the Whites.

Although he hasn’t plied his trade in England, he has experience against Premier League teams in Europe.

Indeed, he steered Olympiacos to a Europa League round-of-32 victory over Arsenal in 2020.

Martins also has experience in European matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley.

Prior to joining Al-Gharafa, Martins steered Olympiacos to three Greek first-division titles and one Greek Cup.

The Portuguese also won the Super League Greece Manager of the Year award twice.

Back in 2019, FootballBH described him as a manager who plays an ‘exciting’ brand of football.

‘The team played an offensive style of football with high-pressure on the opponent’s defense,’ they wrote.

‘They scored the most goals in Super League (in 2018-19), created the most chances compared to all the other teams, made the most passes and made the fewest fouls.

‘All of these statistics have arisen from the good work of Pedro Martins.’