Carlton Palmer on Leeds United’s links to Carlos Carvalhal

Former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer believes his old side would be making a great choice if they appointed ex-Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal as their new boss, speaking to Football League World.

The Whites are currently on the prowl for a new manager to take them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking following their relegation under Sam Allardyce.

This is the exact same scenario West Bromwich Albion were in back in 2021 – and they decided to move for a manager who was in work already with the Baggies appointing Valerien Ismael.

Despite a reasonably successful start to life at The Hawthorns, Ismael was unable to build on that with his style of play proving to be extremely unpopular.

Allardyce’s successor at Elland Road will be hoping to be much more successful, although they may need to deal with the potential departures of several key players including Jack Harrison, who looks destined to move on this summer.

Who is in contention for the Leeds United job?

Alan Nixon believes West Brom boss Carlos Corberan is under consideration at this point and that comes as no shock considering his ties to the club.

Working at the club previously, it wouldn’t take him too long to settle back in if he did make this move.

The same journalist thinks Steven Gerrard may also be in contention, with Graham Potter another name being mentioned. It remains to be seen whether the ex-Swansea City boss would be willing to take the step back down to the Championship though.

Carlos Carvalhal may be a more realistic option – but he’s currently managing Celta Vigo, and it’s unclear whether Leeds would be able to lure him back to England.

What did Carlton Palmer say about Carlos Carvalhal?

Carvalhal already has a decent amount of experience in the UK, taking charge of Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City before.

But Palmer believes it would be a surprising appointment if the 57-year-old did make the switch to West Yorkshire.

He told FLW: “Leeds United have been linked with former Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal.

“Carlos is a very good manager and would be a very good appointment for Leeds United.

“His name has come out of the blue, and it would be a shock appointment, but he was very, very popular at Sheffield Wednesday.

“He was 90 minutes in 2016 from getting to the Owls to the Premier League.

“The Owls finished in a higher league position the following season, only to tumble out of the promotion stakes thanks to a penalty shootout defeat to eventual play-off champions Huddersfield.”

Would Carlos Carvalhal be a good appointment for Leeds United?

Carvalhal doesn’t tend to spend a huge amount of time at clubs and this is a bit of a red flag.

However, he has managed in the English second tier before and certainly wouldn’t be the worst option if he did come in, although you feel they could benefit from having someone at the helm who’s likely to stay at the helm for a bit longer.

Although the key aim will be getting back to the top flight at the first time of asking, something that has to be their main goal, they also need someone who’s going to provide stability and remain at the club for a number of years.

Marcelo Bielsa’s reasonably long stay clearly benefitted the Whites – and if they can bring in another high-calibre manager – that would be a big boost for Leeds who are likely to have a strong squad next season regardless of whether they cash in on key players or not.

Corberan would be a good appointment and considering he’s only in the early stages of his managerial career, he could remain at Elland Road for quite a while.