There has been some understandable concern from some sections of the Leeds United fan base over the club’s recent run of results in the Premier League under Daniel Farke.
The Whites have lost their last three matches in the division, to Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa, despite taking the lead in the last two games.
This run of results has left the West Yorkshire outfit in the relegation zone, albeit only on goal difference, with a daunting run of fixtures on the horizon in the Premier League.
Leeds travel to The Etihad to face Manchester City this weekend before a clash with Chelsea at Elland Road in midweek and a game against reigning champions Liverpool next weekend.
Unless the Whites pull off a surprise result in one of those matches, which is not impossible when you consider that Farke did beat City with Norwich in 2019, they could find themselves adrift in the relegation zone.
If Leeds lose all three of those games, it would be six defeats on the spin and a spot in the bottom three for the club. That is a hard position for any manager to keep their job in.
The case for Leeds to stick with Daniel Farke
Farke’s Premier League record will, naturally, come into question after his dismal time in the top-flight across two seasons with Norwich and the Whites’ form this term.
The German boss has lost 42 of his 61 games in the league, averaging 0.61 points per game, per Transfermarkt, with the Canaries and Leeds combined, which is a concerning statistic for any supporter looking to the manager and hoping that he can keep the team in the division.
However, it is worth adding some context. Norwich spent money on one permanent signing, Sam Byram for £750k, in the 2019/20 campaign and they had to play their last nine games behind closed doors. Before the second season, Farke’s best player, Emi Buendia, was sold to Aston Villa just weeks after they earned promotion from the Championship.
Then, of course, Farke wanted Leeds to strengthen their attacking options in the summer transfer window, but the club were unable to get a deal done for Harry Wilson on deadline day, which has left the manager short of options in the final third.
xG
14.3
13th
Goals
11
19th
xGA
16.1
12th
Goals conceded
22
17th
xGD
-1.8
12th
GD
-11
19th
As you can see in the table above, Leeds should be in midtable based on their performances, but the players have not taken their chances and their goalkeepers have conceded more than expected.
Whilst all of this mitigation is a case to save Farke’s job, a fresh report suggests that the club may be making a change in the dugout in the coming weeks.
The latest on Daniel Farke's future at Leeds
According to Football Insider, the owners are ‘preparing’ to part ways with the German boss if he is unable to oversee an improvement in the team’s results in the next week or so.
The report claims that the club are planning to sack Farke if he does not pick up any points from the matches against Manchester City and Chelsea, as harsh as that may seem given the level of opposition.
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It adds that the Whites are already looking at possible options to come in and replace the German manager in the dugout if they do have a decision to make in the next seven days.
Football Insider reveals that Valencia head coach Carlos Corberan is one of the names in the frame to possibly replace Farke, stating that he has moved ahead in the race to move to the Premier League.
If Leeds are able to convince their former U21s boss to return to Elland Road, the Spaniard could arrive as an upgrade on Farke and the club’s new Marcelo Bielsa.
Why Leeds should appoint Carlos Corberan
Whilst, as aforementioned, there is plenty of mitigation that suggests that Farke would be somewhat unfortunate to lose his job, this latest update clearly shows that Leeds are preparing for a change.
With this in mind, the focus should be on getting the best possible manager in to take the job, and there may not be many better and realistic options than Corberan, due to his history with Leeds and his managerial career to date.
The Spanish boss, who has played a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1 in LaLiga this season, was a first-team coach under Bielsa at Elland Road before taking his first senior posting outside of Cyprus with Huddersfield in 2020.
Since then, he has managed Olympiacos, West Bromwich Albion, and Valencia, gaining vital experience, and has had his coaching style compared to that of Bielsa’s, as shown in the post below.
This suggests that the Whites would be signing a more pragmatic manager than Farke, and one who may be able to implement more subtle tactics within matches to secure results.
That is backed up by his record in LaLiga with Valencia since he made the decision to move on from West Brom to make the move to Spain midway through the 2024/25 campaign.
Matches managed
61
34
Wins
9
12
Draws
10
11
Losses
42
11
Points
37
47
Points per game
0.61
1.38
As you can see in the table above, the ex-Leeds U21s manager has a far better record in a major European league than Farke has, with ten more points from almost half as many games.
Of course, there is the aforementioned mitigation to take into account for Farke, but the Valencia boss is now a proven operator at that level of management, whilst the German is still yet to prove that he can successfully keep a team up.
Corberan was once hailed as “elite” by scout Petar Petrov for getting more out of his group of players than expected, which is exactly what the Whites need in the position that they are currently in.
Therefore, the Spaniard could arrive as an upgrade on Farke, due to his proven ability to get the most out of his players at the top level in Europe, whilst also being Bielsa 2.0 with his pragmatism and willingness to adapt, which is why the club should move for him if they sack Farke.
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