Andrea Radrizzani has outlined his appetite to “have another go” at restoring Leeds to the Premier League after convincing Marcelo Bielsa to remain in charge for another season.
Bielsa, who guided Leeds to third in the Championship, will stay after the Leeds owner activated a 12-month extension to the contract the manager signed last summer.
Bielsa was noncommittal over his future following the 4-3 play-off semi-final defeat by Derby but after discussions with Radrizzani, who this week rejected reports he was considering selling the club to an investment group based in Qatar, the Argentinian will remain.
“Let’s have another go,” Radrizzani said. “I am delighted Marcelo has agreed to stay for another year – we have unfinished business. We were close and next season we will work harder to achieve our goal.”
Bielsa has proved hugely popular with Leeds supporters as well as the playing staff. The Leeds captain, Liam Cooper, has credited the former Athletic Bilbao and Chile manager for his role in changing the culture within the club.
“Along with Andrea, Victor [Orta, the director of football] and Angus [Kinnear, the managing director] he is helping to create a new culture at Leeds,” Cooper said. “This news allows us to focus on the next year – we have continuity for the first time in my career at Leeds and we will all now be focused on returning to pre-season and working hard to achieve our ultimate goal together.”
Bielsa became the highest-paid manager in the Championship when he succeeded Paul Heckingbottom in June last year on a reported salary of more than £2m-per-year.
Owing to financial fair play regulations, Bielsa must work with limited resources next season, with the use of the loan market and the academy again likely to be pivotal.
