“Antonio Conte was on our managerial list” | Squawka Football

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has revealed former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was on his shortlist of managers to lead the club before appointing Marcelo Bielsa.

Conte, 49, was relieved of his duties at Stamford Bridge this summer after spending the past two seasons with the Premier League outfit.

His availability piqued the interest of Radrizzani – who was looking for a successor to Paul Heckingbottom – but nothing transpired which then opened the door for Bielsa, who has hit the ground running at Elland Road.

“Conte [was on the list] and with him, we would have been certain of promotion to the Premier League,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I would even have offered him €20m. Then I interviewed Ranieri who was attracted by our interest, but declined as he was waiting for a call from a top-flight club.

“I even spoke to Martinez, but Belgium were an obstacle. At the end of May, I spoke with our director of football [Victor] Orta and he said Bielsa would be ideal, but that it would be impossible [to get him].”

He continued: “Those words just motivated me even more and we negotiated for a few days then reached an agreement at £3m, which he shares with his staff, and a one year plus one year option as duration.

“We finished negotiations after ten hours of conversation in Buenos Aires. He’d studied 20 of our games and already knew all the players, including the youngsters.

“It seemed impossible to get him here, but he’s our top player. We are a Premier League club, and even more so with him.”

Bielsa’s impressive start

To say Bielsa has begun well is an understatement. After four matches in all competitions, with three of those being league outings, Leeds are 100%.

An opening weekend victory over Stoke at home (3-1) was followed by an emphatic win away to promotion rivals Derby (1-4).

Sandwiched between their date with Frank Lampard’s men and a routine 2-0 home win over Rotherham was a League Cup first round triumph against Bolton (2-1).

All of this means Bielsea becomes the first Leeds manager in history to win his opening four matches. Next up is a trip to Swansea City on August 21 before visiting Norwich City a few days later.

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