Patrick Vieira new Leeds United manager contender in Monday update amid Andoni Iraola drama

Patrick Vieira has emerged as a real contender for the Leeds United manager job alongside Daniel Farke and Scott Parker, according to the Daily Mail.

The former French international has been out of work since being sacked at Crystal Palace on 17 March, and was linked to the Elland Road job during the multiple managerial changes during the season.

As the club start the week that had been slated to see them end their selection process [Phil Hay, 14 June] the 46-year-old has now been named in the race, just as Football League World had reported Monday morning (19 June) the club made “one last push” to appoint ex-Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola, only to see him announced as the new Bournemouth manager after the shock sacking of Gary O’Neil.

According to the Daily Mail the same day, Leeds United want a manager who has experience in the top two tiers of English football and “ideally” won’t require compensation.

Vieira ticks two of those boxes but hasn’t worked in the Championship before, whereas both Farke and Parker have and are also currently out of work.

Big name

Vieira was considered unlucky by some to lose his job at Selhurst Park having struggled through a gruelling set of fixtures, only to be replaced by Roy Hodgson as comparatively winnable games came up.

Through his managerial career with New York City FC, Nice and Palace he has built up a solid reputation without gaining too much traction towards a job higher up the pyramid, although commands a lot of respect as a big name from his playing career.

That he hasn’t got experience in the second tier might be a slight concern, but while the other two names have great promotion records their CVs drop off significantly when it comes to being successful in the Premier League.

Whether Vieira has only just arrived in the equation or has been in contact with Angus Kinnear for some time along with other candidates is unclear.

But his his name recognition might make him an option that fans could get behind if there is further late drama in this managerial race.

Leeds United have made hard work of appointing managers in the past six months, so given this is the third time they have had to do so in that time has meant plenty of toil for very little success.

The 49ers are going to have to change that in a big way by landing the right man this time around, but the Iraola situation has put the pressure right back on them.