Paulo Fonseca has confirmed he held talks with Victor Orta over replacing Marcelo Bielsa as Leeds United’s manager in 2022.
Via Record, Fonseca was speaking at a Transfer Room congress back in his home nation Portugal alongside Victor Orta, where he shared details of a conversation with the former Leeds sporting director.
Bielsa was sacked from his role as Leeds’ manager back in February 2022 following a run of results which saw them lose four in a row and concede 20 goals in five matches.
Despite that, Bielsa’s exit was met with anger from supporters after what he had done for the club, but that was only heightened when Jesse Marsch was appointed as his successor.
Marsch did just about help Leeds secure survival in the season he came in, but it quickly became apparent that he was never going to be the right man to replace Bielsa, and he was sacked less than a year later.
Fonseca confirms he spoke to Orta about Leeds job
But it all could’ve been very different had Orta gone down the route of appointing Fonseca, with the 50-year-old confirming he held talks over the Elland Road vacancy.
“We didn’t talk much about the project itself. It was a quick meeting. He talked a lot about the club, the infrastructure, the culture of the club and the city. It was more about that.”
Again, he doesn’t really feel like he would’ve been a natural successor to Bielsa but his track record is certainly more impressive than that of Marsch.
Fonseca’s best time as a manager came during his three-year spell at Shakhtar Donetsk, though he has also done a good job at Lille since his appointment back in 2022.
Orta’s biggest failure at Leeds was the decision to bring in Marsch to replace Bielsa but in truth, it doesn’t feel like anyone he identified was going to be the right man.
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