Phil Hay has claimed that Leeds United are admirers of out-of-work coach Marcelo Gallardo.
The Lowdown: The manager search continues
After sacking Jesse Marsch over a week ago, Leeds are still without a permanent manager, and caretaker boss Michael Skubala will take charge for the time being, including for their relegation six-pointer at the weekend.
Leeds have certainly been trying to land a new manager, though they have been foiled in their attempts to bring in a new coach, with the likes of Andoni Iraola, Arne Slot and Alfred Schreuder all now off the table.
Someone who may well have been easier to land is the unattached Gallardo, who is yet to take up another job since leaving River Plate last year, although his unwillingness to join mid-season is proving to be a stumbling block.
The Latest: Gallardo is wanted by Leeds
Hay has admitted Leeds do admire Gallardo, who has been called 'legendary' and would love him as their manager, although he has also claimed on The Phil Hay Show that the Argentinian is unwilling to join a club without a pre-season to work with the players.
He said: "They like Marcelo Gallardo, who was at River Plate for eight years and left that job in October, but everybody around Gallardo says he does not want to take his next job at this stage. He wants it to be with a full season ahead of him, which I totally understand; it makes sense.
"That's kind of the Bielsa attitude towards work, is that you want pre-season so you can plan it properly - you don't really want to firefight."
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The Verdict: Leeds must make an appointment sooner rather than later
Given that Leeds have got the two Manchester United games out of the way that were always going to be tough tests, the Whites now have two huge games on the horizon against relegation rivals Everton and Southampton, though having a new man in place in to prepare for them clearly would have been ideal.
In terms of bringing someone in from elsewhere, the Whites are seemingly back at square one, with Schreuder - who was in the Elland Road stands last weekend - now reportedly out of the running for the vacant role, so many will hope Orta and Andrea Radrizzani have something else up their sleeve.
When Marsch was sacked, many will have expected that something was in the pipeline, and even more so following Radrizzani's 'white smoke' tweet, which suggested something was close to being finalised, but that has not come to fruition.
And while Skubala may yet be a relatively safe pair of hands for now, the Leeds board could well be counting their lucky stars he has got something of a tune out of the squad since Marsch’s departure - or Tuesday evening’s announcement will surely have seemed far more panicked indeed.