‘Keep an eye on’ – Journalist says Bielsa could take major Premier League job

While discussing Steven Gerrard’s dismissal, journalist Ben Jacobs believes that former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa could be in line to take over his job at Villa Park.

The Argentine who did a tremendous job at Leeds has been out of work for eight months, and a return to English football could be on the cards.

According to Jacobs, the list of replacements for Steven Gerrard was drawn up weeks ago in light of their disastrous start to the season, and Bielsa’s name was among those shortlisted.

While speaking on Off The Ball, he said:

“Sean Dyche will be linked to Aston Villa as well, and then an outsider to keep an eye on is Marcelo Bielsa, the former Leeds manager. It’s an open race at the moment, but a lot of the legwork in terms of shortlists and candidates was done weeks ago.”

Neither Leeds fans nor Villa fans will be particularly thrilled by these links as the two clubs have a little bit of history since the controversial incident back in 2019. Leeds had scored a goal while Anwar El Ghazi was down injured which left the Villa team angered leading to chaos. Marcelo Bielsa then ordered his team to allow Villa to score, causing even more uproar between the two teams, and while this was a very sporting act, Villa fans still hold a grudge against him.

Former Burnley manager Sean Dyche is another name mentioned by Jacobs, while Aston Villa are also being linked with more ‘ambitious’ names, with The Telegraph mentioning Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino as two candidates that are being considered by the owners.