The revolving managerial merry-go-round that is the Leeds United job continues to throw out new names, with former Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro the new favourite with Sky Bet at 5/2.
The Spaniard began his managerial career as assistant manager at Spanish giants Real Madrid, but this season took over the reigns at Real Oviedo, where his exceptional work has clearly been noticed by Leeds’ new owner Andrea Radrizzani.
Hierro is now the latest on a list of managers to be linked with the role. Reading boss Jaap Stam emerged as the first of Radrizzani’s 4 man shortlist for the job, but the Dutchman’s agent has since ruled him out of the race, with Stam set to sign a new 2-year deal with Championship rivals Reading.
Quique Flores, formerly of Premier League outfit Watford, is also being heavily linked with the role, and is now the fourth favourite behind Hierro, Victor Sánchez and former Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew.
Whilst Hierro lacks the managerial experience at the top-level, the gamble taken by Reading and Huddersfield on Jaap Stam and David Wagner respectively proved to pay off massively, as did Hierro’s former club Real Madrid’s decision to appoint Zinedine Zidane, who only had experience with the B team.
The 49-year-old certainly has the pedigree to handle a big club such as Leeds – he made over 400 appearances at the back for Real Madrid, scoring an incredible 102 goals, cementing his place as one of the greatest centre-backs of the modern era. This could well be a risk worth taking.
