Leeds United continue to be linked to a multitude of managers, with Andrea Radrizzani struggling to narrow down his search for a successor to Jesse Marsch…
When has Nuno been linked to Leeds?
One of the latest to be mentioned in the conversation for the Elland Road vacancy is Nuno Espirito Santo, who departed from English football just 16 months ago but could now be set for a sensational return.
The former goalkeeper had impressed at the helm of Wolverhampton Wanderers before enduring a tough spell at Tottenham Hotspur which rerouted his coaching career to Saudi Arabia.
According to a report by The Athletic from late last week, he has been mentioned in discussions among the Whites’ hierarchy, and the Portuguese coach would reportedly be keen on a return to the Premier League.
Would Nuno be as bad as Marsch?
Hiring the pragmatic 49-year-old might offer a wholly different style to Marsch, who was dismissed a week ago today, but could bear the same results.
There was one glaring issue with both of the teams that Nuno managed whilst in England, and that was a lack of goalscoring impetus. During his time at Molineux, his statistics were somewhat bolstered by Wolves’ stint as comfortably the best team in the Championship in 2017/18, but upon earning promotion his side had a -4 goal difference across his 114 matches in the Premier League.
Then, during his short stint at Tottenham in 2021, his team scored just nine goals in ten top-flight matches and conceded 16, leaving little wonder as to why he was subsequently sacked.
With that being his most recent foray into management in the UK, it marks a searing indictment of his potential appointment at Elland Road if Spurs could hardly score despite boasting prolific talents like Harry Kane (283 senior club goals) and Heung-min Son (188), whilst lacking any solidity at the back.
Therefore, to take over a struggling Leeds team which has already shipped 38 goals in 22 Premier League games would be a recipe for disaster.
Even Marsch had managed to see his team score 52 times during 37 matches in charge in Yorkshire, despite his questionable defensive ideals as 60 goals went in at the other end.
Nuno’s tenure in north London was tough, with Alan Hutton outlining the frailties that he thought had lost the 49-year-old his job, saying: “Yes, he’s only been given 10 games in the league and 17 in total but we’ve not seen any progression. To this day, we don’t know how they were trying to play. Were they a counter-attacking team? Were they a possession-based team?
“I mean, they hadn’t had a shot on target in over two hours. From a team with players like that, top internationals, that’s embarrassing. Tottenham were shocking, let’s not dress it up. They were terrible.”
To appoint someone who had suffered so dearly in his most recent job in English football, with a far more potent squad than the one he might inherit at Leeds, could prove to be Radrizzani’s greatest blunder, even more so than hiring the much-maligned American.