Leeds United set to begin new contract talks with Marcelo Bielsa soon, admits Angus Kinnear
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Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear has confessed that the club’s hierarchy are set to begin talks with Marcelo Bielsa over a new contract within the next few weeks. The Peacocks have been automatically promoted to the Premier League which ended a 16-year exile for the Elland Road side.
After 16 long years, and after missing out on a promotion spot last season, Leeds United are back in the Premier League and the Peacocks enter as Champions of the second tier. Brentford’s defeat to Stoke City on Saturday ensured that nobody would be able to outdo their points tally with West Brom’s loss to Huddersfield on Friday confirming the promotion. While both the Baggies and Brentford continue to fight for the final automatic promotion place, the Peacocks are preparing for the future. Their return to the Premier League will effectively change a lot of things for the club but their main focus right now is head coach Marcelo Bielsa’s contract.
The Argentine’s current deal at Elland Road runs out next week and the two parties are yet to come to an agreement over a new contract. But Angus Kinnear has confirmed that discussions will start once the season is officially over with the club’s hierarchy and Bielsa set to meet over the next week to discuss and he added that they're confident over an extension as he believes Bielsa is committed to Leeds.
"Victor, Andrea and I will be straight in with Marcelo next week and talking about plans for next season. He has a review, he knows the direction he wants to take the club in and it will go from things we need on the playing side, right through to changes he wants to be made at Thorp Arch and in the backroom staff, and obviously his own personal arrangements as well we need to resolve," Kinnear said reported Goal.
"The challenge with Marcelo is his intentions are always a bit of a mystery because he's always focused on the next game and you're a brave man to try to distract him from the task of the next match. I think he's fallen in love with the club. I think he's committed to it."
The Peacocks, however, will have to improve their squad to be able to survive the harsh environment that is the English top tier. They will have funds to do that but after Norwich City’s, Fulham’s and even Aston Villa’s problems over the last few years, they’ll have to be careful. Kinnear further added that the club knows they need to strengthen and have already started work on identifying potential targets.
"We know we need to strengthen. Targets have been identified. We're working on them already, we're working on them now - today it's started in earnest. And that recruitment is going to be the biggest challenge because the window is so short. With the TV money being fairly evenly spread other than the performance related element, it means we immediately have a competitive advantage if we can harness that fanbase and use those resources to compete in the transfer market.
"I think next year the team will go out every week and play swashbuckling, attacking football, will show absolutely no fear, will show no team any respect. We're not going to be scared and I think we'll give Leeds supporters another year they can be proud of,’ he added.
