The Athletic claim Patrick Vieira wanted to replace Jesse Marsch at Leeds United last month after the Whites had sacked the American despite the Arsenal legend still being in the hotseat at Crystal Palace – though was frustrated.
Vieira has been sacked on Friday as boss, despite the Eagles sitting in 12th place in the League table. He watched Palace lose to rivals Brighton in the week and ahead of Sunday’s clash against Arsenal, Vieira has left the club.
In the midst of Vieira’s sacking, The Athletic report an interesting turn of events regarding the iconic midfielder. It is claimed that with Leeds looking for a new manager after sacking March, Vieira was intrigued by the Leeds job.
While there was no contact between Leeds and Vieira, it is believed that Palace would not have stood in his way if he chose to move to Elland Road. It would have been a surprise given Leeds are lower down the table than Palace.
Palace sack Vieira: Arsenal legend wanted to replace Marsch at Leeds
Palace’s lack of investment in January had frustrated Vieira. The Frenchman watched his side go winless in 12, not tasting victory in 2023 – beating Bournemouth 2-0 away on New Year’s Eve. Indeed, Vieira was tempted by Leeds.
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Would he have been a good appointment? He would have given Leeds a nice brand of football. But Vieira’s issue as a manager is a lack of goals. An issue he experienced at Nice and at Palace, his side have not scored in four games.
Instead, Leeds have brought in Javi Gracia and the Spaniard has made a solid start – winning four points from nine in his first three games. Gracia is ticking the boxes for Leeds as his pragmatic approach is something fans wanted.
