Dean Jones has been reacting to Leeds United’s reported interest in former Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira.
What’s the latest on Leeds and Vieira, and what has Jones had to say?
The Whites currently have Javi Gracia in charge after parting ways with Jesse Marsch back in February. The Spaniard wasn’t first choice at Leeds, though, with the club reportedly looking at the likes of Andoni Iraola, Arne Slot, Carlos Corberan and Marcelo Gallardo prior to Gracia arriving.
The 52-year-old was making a positive impression as he looks to guide the club to safety in the Premier League prior to Sunday's 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, although he is only on a flexible contract with the Whites.
That has led to speculation on what Leeds could do in the summer, with talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook saying in recent weeks that Leeds could offer Vieira an immediate return to the dugout in the Premier League, with Whites officials still rating the 4-3-3 style manager despite being sacked by Palace.
Jones was speaking to GiveMeSport regarding the rumours about Vieira possibly moving to Elland Road. The reporter feels that the Frenchman may not be the answer in Yorkshire after how things played out at Selhurst Park earlier in the year, saying:
"I don't think that Patrick Vieira would have done too much in recent times to convince Leeds that he would be the way forward.
"I think that Leeds really have to consider what they're going to do here and that will obviously depend on whether they even stay in the Premier League. But if they do, I don't think he would be the answer to that, given the way that things went for him at Crystal Palace.”
Vieira was recently interested in the Leeds job…
Phil Hay has said that Gracia has brought order to the chaos at Leeds, something that has seemingly been required in Yorkshire after the high-energy football under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch, and you could say that if he keeps the club in the top flight that he should be handed the job full time heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
However, Vieira was recently interested in taking over at Leeds while still in charge at Palace, so it looks as if this could be one to keep an eye on even with the current Leeds head coach doing a solid job. Bringing in Vieira could be a risk, though, with the Frenchman failing to win a game in 2023 prior to departing Palace last month.
In his first taste of management in the Premier League, Vieira averaged just 1.22 points per game, the lowest of any side he has been in charge of, as per Transfermarkt, so Leeds could be better off sticking with Gracia over Vieira, providing things can get back on track on the pitch.