‘That wasn’t happening’: Leeds would have loved 47-year-old boss after Gracia, but he wasn’t keen – journalist

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United would happily have hired Graham Potter or Brendan Rodgers instead of Sam Allardyce according to Adam Crafton.

Speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast, Crafton was discussing Leeds’ appointment of Sam Allardyce.

Quite rightly, Crafton suggested that Allardyce was quite an uncharacteristic hire at Leeds, and he says that the Whites would much rather have hired someone like Potter or Rodgers if they made it clear that they would have come in and stayed with the club in the Championship.

Unfortunately, neither of those managers were forthcoming with an approach this summer, and, ultimately, Leeds had to go for Big Sam.

Leeds would have taken Potter or Rodgers

Crafton shared what he knows about Leeds.

“Nobody is saying that they want him to stay if they go down, people view this as the way to end the current project, just to get the end of the season and survive in the Premier League. The reality is that if Graham Potter or Brendan Rodgers made it clear to Leeds that they would have taken Leeds on with four games left and would have stayed if they’d gone down to bring them back up, they’d have got a Graham Potter or a Brendan Rodgers, but that wasn’t happening,” Crafton said.

Maybe in the summer

It’s worth noting that Leeds will likely be on the lookout for a new manager this summer, and if they’re in the Premier League, they could well attract someone like Potter or Rodgers.

Both Potter and Rodgers are out of work right now, and under new ownership, an ambitious Leeds side could whet either of their appetites.

Potter does have a lot to prove after a poor spell with Chelsea, but make no mistake about it, the 47-year-old is still a talented coach who could do a very good job for a club like Leeds.