It’s been a tough start to the season for Daniel Farke and Leeds United, who have suffered two poor defeats in their last two outings.
Leeds United started the campaign promisingly. In their opening game of the Premier League season, Leeds United beat Everton 1-0, and it looked like Daniel Farke’s side would head to Arsenal and potentially cause an upset.
But it was the complete other way round as Arsenal thumped Leeds United 5-0, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring his first two goals for the club.
Soon after, Leeds United played Yorkshire rival Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, and a makeshift Wednesday side full of youngsters beat what was a relatively strong Leeds side in the end, overcoming the Whites on penalties as Dominic Calvert-Lewin endured a nightmare debut for the club.
Newcastle United are up next. If Leeds suffer another poor result, then fans may start to fear about the season ahead and potentially question whether Farke really is the right man for the job.
Jose Mourinho looks on during Fenerbahce's clash against Sivasspor.
Photo by Sercan Kucuksahin/Anadolu via Getty Images
Previous Leeds United manager target Jose Mourinho leaves Fenerbahce
One man who was linked with the Leeds United job at the start of summer was Jose Mourinho. Following promotion to the Premier League, it was claimed that Leeds United were considering Farke’s future at the club, citing his poor Premier League record with Norwich City as a key factor behind that.
In the end, it was confirmed that Farke would remain in charge of Leeds United for this season. But, as ever, the 49ers may need to reconsider that decision should results prove poor in the months of the Premier League season, and chairman Paraag Marathe might be interested to know that Mourinho has now left Fenerbahce.
It is understood that Mourinho and Fenerbahce had disagreements behind the scenes and now the former Chelsea, Man United and Spurs manager has left the club after his contract was torn up.
Farke’s PL record at Norwich Games in charge Wins Draws Losses GS GA Points
2019-20 38 5 6 27 26 75 21
2021-22 11 1 2 8 5 25 5
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Leeds United secretly offered Jose Mourinho the job, Richard Keys claims
Mourinho’s links to Leeds United seemed like a lot of speculation at the time. But Richard Keyes claimed that he knew Marathe had offered Mourinho the Leeds job, and that the Portuguese manager had turned it down at the time.
Speaking back in May, Keys claimed that Mourinho was offered the Leeds United job, writing: “Paraag Marathe is quite pleased with himself after publicly backing Daniel Farke. ‘I have ended the speculation’ he said. ‘He is my man’.
“What he’s not saying is he started the speculation by offering Farke’s job to Jose Mourinho. I know that for a fact. Mourinho actually ended the speculation by turning down the offer. A smart move by Marathe.
“Mourinho would’ve set Elland Road alight. Sadly Marathe couldn’t convince Mourinho that Leeds won’t be fighting a relegation battle next season. That’s not something the Special One wants.”
Whether Mourinho has changed his mind on Leeds United after seeing who the club have signed this summer remains to be seen.
Either way, Farke remains in the job for the time being, and if Leeds can sign one or two more players before the September 1st deadline then the Whites might actually enjoy a strong season in the Premier League.
Leeds’ game against Newcastle United kicks off at 5.30pm on Saturday.