Reported Leeds target Julen Lopetegui extends Sevilla contract

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Leeds United may have taken note of the news coming out of Sevilla over the weekend as it was announced that Julen Lopetegui has extended his contract with the club.

As reported by AS, Lopetegui’s deal will run for a further two years until 2024. It comes with Sevilla sixth in La Liga with at least two games in hand over the four sides immediately above them.

He has previously helped the club to their latest Europa League triumph. And as noted by AS, he boasts the best win percentage of any manager in their history.

The news may catch Leeds’ attention as it was not too long ago that Lopetegui was linked with the Whites.

The Sun reported in late November that the Whites had identified Lopetegui as a top target for when Marcelo Bielsa steps aside.

The report did note that his contract running until 2022 would make a compensation a big issue for Leeds. But it seems highly unlikely that it is an approach that the Whites have any interest in making anytime soon anyway.

Bielsa remains one of the most popular figures in the club’s history. And there remains a sense that Leeds are yet to discover their ceiling with the Argentinian at the helm.

So they will be hoping that they do not need to consider replacements for Bielsa for some time yet.

And in some ways, they may actually be pleased to see Lopetegui’s contract extended. It is a further indicator that he is doing a fantastic job.

Finding the right successor for Bielsa is likely to be one of the most difficult tasks Andrea Radrizzani, Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear contend with at Leeds.

And if they indeed have Lopetegui on their wishlist, there was always likely to be some hurdles to clear. His new contract may certainly prove to be one at some stage.