Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal has emerged as a contender for the Leeds United vacancy.
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Leeds United are weighing up a move for former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal, according to journalist Alan Nixon.
The Whites are on the hunt for a new manager following the departure of Sam Allardyce, with the club opting against extending the 68-year-old’s short-term contract after he failed to keep them in the Premier League and Carvalhal is the latest name to be linked with the vacancy.
Where is Carvalhal managing now?
Carvalhal is currently in charge of Spanish side Celta Vigo, and he led them to La Liga safety with a 2-1 win over champions Barcelona on the final day of the season on Sunday.
The 57-year-old, who is under contract with Celta until June 2024, guided Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship play-offs in 2016 and 2017, and he has also had stints with the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Besiktas, Swansea City and Braga.
We asked some of our FLW writers for their thoughts on Carvalhal’s potential appointment at Elland Road.
James Reeves
Carvalhal would be an intriguing appointment for Leeds.
He did an outstanding job with Wednesday, rebuilding the Owls squad and delivering a team playing attractive, attacking football, losing out in the play-offs on two occasions.
Carvalhal has enjoyed success since leaving Hillsborough, guiding Rio Ave to a club-record points total before winning the Taca de Portugal and reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League with Braga.
He achieved his goal of keeping Celta in La Liga, but an alarming run of form towards the end of the season dragged his side back into danger from what seemed to be a position of safety, while he has generally only stayed in jobs for a short period of time which would not provide Leeds with the stability they desperately need after a turbulent campaign, so there are question marks over Carvalhal’s suitability for the role.
But it is Carvalhal’s time at Wednesday and his excellent Championship track record which will be most appealing to the Whites and, although it would be a huge risk, he could be a gamble worth taking.
Chris Gallagher
I think this would be a decent move.
Next season is all about winning promotion for Leeds, so the obvious advantage of appointing Carvalhal is that he knows about the Championship from his time with Sheffield Wednesday, so he won’t need time to adapt.
He achieved his goal of keeping Celta in La Liga, but an alarming run of form towards the end of the season dragged his side back into danger from what seemed to be a position of safety, while he has generally only stayed in jobs for a short period of time which would not provide Leeds with the stability they desperately need after a turbulent campaign, so there are question marks over Carvalhal’s suitability for the role.
But it is Carvalhal’s time at Wednesday and his excellent Championship track record which will be most appealing to the Whites and, although it would be a huge risk, he could be a gamble worth taking.
Chris Gallagher
I think this would be a decent move.
Next season is all about winning promotion for Leeds, so the obvious advantage of appointing Carvalhal is that he knows about the Championship from his time with Sheffield Wednesday, so he won’t need time to adapt.
As well as that, he is a good tactical coach, and Leeds have a lot of good players in the squad, so he could be what they need to help them perform to their highest level.
Having said that, Carvalhal has had a mixed career, so it’s not like he is a standout candidate, whilst some may prefer the club to go for a younger boss as they try to build a long-term project at Elland Road, which is also understandable.
Overall though, he’s certainly someone they should consider, and if he did take over I would back them to be in the mix for promotion in 12 months’ time.
Adam Elliott
Given the standard of some of the other names being linked with the Leeds job, this would be somewhat underwhelming for Leeds fans.
To name but a few of the options who would be better appointments for the Whites: Brendan Rodgers, Graham Potter, and Carlos Corberan.
That isn’t to disrespect Carvalhal, who initially did well with Sheffield Wednesday, and has had good early spells at Rio Ave and Braga, too.
However, Leeds could, and should, be more ambitious than the 57-year-old this summer. Someone with an expansive and progressive brand of football to take them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
