Serie A Side Hellas Verona Set to Target Leeds Manager Marcelo Bielsa
By Josh Sim
Serie A club Hellas Verona will reportedly line up Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa as their next manager, should current incumbent Ivan Jurić leave the club in the summer.
A well-traveled coach who has managed the likes of Marseille, Athletic Club and the Argentina national side, Bielsa joined the Whites in 2018 and took them to the Championship play-off semi-finals in his first season, where they narrowly lost out to Derby County. At the time of this season's suspension, they were on top of the table and looked set for promotion back to the Premier League.
Yet it remains uncertain that the Argentinian would be willing to stay at Elland Road should the club not achieve promotion to the top flight this season, which would spark interest from many clubs across Europe.
And according to Italian media outlet L'Arena, Hellas Verona are thought to be keen on making an approach for the 64-year-old if their current manager Jurić was to depart at the end of this season.
Under the Croat's management, the Gialloblu currently sit in an impressive eighth place in Serie A, and are only a point behind Milan, who currently occupy the final European place ahead of the next campaign.
Indeed, Jurić himself is said to have caught the attention of Premier League side West Ham United, with the same outlet recently claiming that the east London club are considering him as a potential replacement for David Moyes once his short-term deal expires.
Should Bielsa end up in charge of the Mastini, they would not be the first team that he's managed in Italy. In July 2016, he was appointed as the manager of Lazio but then quit after two days, citing the club's inability to bring in the players he wanted in the transfer window.