Phil Hay says The 49ers were really keen on luring an English manager to Leeds United ahead of Daniel Farke last summer but could not convince him of a move to the Championship.
Leeds hired Farke last summer after being linked with a number of names before appointing the German. One was Brendan Rodgers, with the Northern Irishman now closing in on another league title at Celtic.
Others included the likes of Scott Parker, Steven Gerrard and Carlos Corberan who were considered prior to the announcement of Farke as an eventual long-term replacement for Jesse Marsch in the Leeds job.
Phil Hay has now reported that another manager on the shortlist was Graham Potter after the 48-year-old was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023, and the Englishman has been out of work since that decision.
Hay told The Square Ball that The 49ers were really keen on luring the former Brighton boss to Elland Road but explained why a move never materialised for Potter:
Hay says Leeds really wanted to hire Graham Potter last summer
Potter remains out of work despite being touted with numerous roles since his Chelsea sacking, and the work he did as Brighton manager with Manchester United and Nice among those to be strongly linked.
Hay says that Leeds were very keen on luring Potter to Elland Road after his sacking a few months prior at Stamford Bridge but given he had just managed Chelsea in the Champions League, he was against talks.
“Remember last summer, the 49ers were really big on Graham Potter. But they couldn’t get Potter into a position where he was ready to seriously discuss the job with them. He had just come out of Chelsea.
“He’d had a bad time there but done really well at Brighton. He saw himself as a Premier League coach. There’s no point saying we should have made an offer he couldn’t have refused, that’s not how it works.”
What Jesse Marsch said about Potter amid links with Leeds
Ahead of a clash between Leeds and The Seagulls, Marsch once praised both Potter as “wonderful” and applauded his work in the transfer window which was quite sublime while acting as Brighton manager.
“We really respect Brighton. They have obviously had a great season, made some good additions and have a wonderful manager. They have had a good start to the season,” Marsch said, as per Sussex Live.
But Potter’s potential move to Leeds never materialised and fast forward a year, Farke has taken The Whites into the play-offs after finishing third and narrowly missing out on a place in the top two.