Leeds rediscover their identity by hiring “fast-paced, high press” Big Sam heir

Leeds United’s priority this summer, regardless of the division they find themselves in, will be finding a new manager to ensure that they can improve upon a disastrous campaign.

Sam Allardyce is currently the man in the dugout for Leeds but he was hired on a short-term basis to try and keep the Yorkshire club in the Premier League, and there would presumably be an uproar if he was hired permanently.

One man who was touted as a potential option for Leeds following the sacking of Javi Gracia was Jon Dahl Tomasson, and the Elland Road outfit could rediscover the identity they cultivated under Marcelo Bielsa by hiring the Blackburn Rovers boss this summer.

Could Leeds hire Jon Dahl Tomasson this summer?

It was reported by Football Insider last month that those at Leeds were seriously impressed by the work that Tomasson has done in his first season at Ewood Park and considered him to be the next Bielsa at Elland Road.

While the more drastic option for Allardyce was taken in a desperate attempt to keep Leeds up, it seems likely that Leeds could revisit a move for the 46-year-old this summer when their future is more clear, especially if they rate him as highly as reports claim.

Under Tomasson, Blackburn would narrowly miss out on the playoffs in the Championship this term, as he averaged 1.5 points per game in the second tier, while the Lancashire outfit also just missed out on a FA Cup semi-final after losing late on against Sheffield United.

EFL pundit James Allcott lauded the “fast-paced, high press” style that Tomasson has implemented at Blackburn when they sat third in the table earlier in the campaign.

He said: “Blackburn’s exciting pressing style has been very fun to watch this season because of how many goals and chances it yields. They play every game at a million miles an hour and have been overwhelming their opponents so far.”

This style of play will certainly remind Leeds fans of the tactic set up by Bielsa when he took over at Leeds, with the Yorkshire outfit regularly outrunning and relentlessly pressing their opponents.

After the recent seasons which have seen that style abandoned for a less adventurous one, which has done very little to solve Leeds’ defensive woes, fans would surely love to see a return of this mentality at Elland Road.