Alfred Schreuder: Leeds United in talks with ex-Ajax boss
- By Adam Pope
- BBC Radio Leeds
image source, Getty Images
Alfred Schreuder won the Belgian professional league with Club Brugge
Leeds United are in initial talks with former Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder to replace Jesse Marsch.
Leeds have had several setbacks in their search for a manager since American Marsch was sacked last Monday.
Another target was West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan – a former assistant to Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds – but he signed a new contract with the Championship side a day after Marsch’s sacking.
Former Argentina midfielder Marcelo Gallardo has also been linked with the job but the 47-year-old, who left River Plate in December after eight years, is on a break from coaching.
It is not certain whether Schreuder will be appointed on an interim or permanent basis
Under-21 coach Michael Skubala was temporarily in charge of Leeds – who sit 17th in the Premier League, a point above the relegation zone – and oversaw a 1-1 draw with United on Wednesday and Sunday’s defeat.
The next game is on Saturday at 18. FC Everton.
Who is Schrueder?
After retiring as a player, Schreuder began his managerial career as an assistant coach at Vitesse before moving to Twente in 2009 to work under Steve McClaren.
In 2014 he became Twente’s permanent coach, before working as an assistant coach at Hoffenheim and Barcelona.
He led Club Brugge, who he joined in 2022, to the Belgian league title before joining Ajax in the summer, where he won 12 of his 26 games as manager.
He was sacked after seven games without a win, with Ajax boss Edwin van der Sar saying it had “become clear Schreuder couldn’t change the tide”.
The appointment will be taken immediately – Angus Kinnear
On Friday Leeds had interviewed their four main contenders to replace Marsch and chief executive Angus Kinnear admitted in his program notes ahead of Sunday’s game that it had been a “challenging” week but the search for a new boss was “well advanced “ was. and an appointment would be “on time”.
He added that he and football director Victor Orta are fully aware of chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s desire for a speedy end to the search.
“The search for a new head coach is well advanced,” he said.
“The challenge is to balance our list of potential candidates – which has been built and evolved over many seasons – with the current availability and openness of candidates to accepting a new role mid-season.
“While we have faith in the janitorial team, we know the importance of a timely appointment and when Victor and I are in doubt we have Andrea’s Twitter account to keep the pressure on.”