La Roma 24 cover the player today and how he can’t get into the first team, thanks to a surprising revival from Rick Karsdorp.

They explain that if you were to go back a year ago, the idea of Karsdorp shining and being the protagonist for Roma would have been very unexpected.

That’s because he had a very public falling out with manager Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese boss seemingly giving up on the defender after a bad performance in Reggio Emilia.

He spent the summer with his suitcases packed and ready to go, with neither he nor the club seemingly wanting to continue their relationship. Hence the deal to sign Kristensen on loan from Leeds.

Kristensen began the season as the starting player but has quickly been forgotten and replaced by Karsdorp thanks to his revival.

He’s enjoying an ‘unexpected but functional return’ and replaced the Leeds loanee, who has proven ‘not up to par’ when given his chance to impress.

Whether that leads to questions being asked at Elland Road and a potential early exit from Rome remains to be seen, but so far it seems the loan deal hasn’t worked out and they’re less than convinced.

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The Spanish midfielder has been speaking to Marca about his time back in Spain so far after returning to his home country in the summer.

He’s on a season-long loan deal at Betis from Leeds, having taken advantage of a clause in his contract to leave Elland Road on a temporary basis following relegation last season.

He’s been enjoying his time at Betis ever since, quickly establishing himself as a key player under Manuel Pellegrini with a series of impressive performances.

He’s been very keen to share his happiness with anyone who’ll listen since, making it clear in various interviews how delighted he is to be back in Spain and enjoying his football after a difficult year at Leeds.

Whether he remains at Betis remains to be seen, as they have an option to make it a permanent deal in the summer should they wish to. He’s not sure whether that will happen and admits it won’t only be down to him.

“I feel the colors,” he said.

“The other day we had the derby. I felt a lot of emotion. I had goosebumps. I felt like crying with emotion. I said: oh man, these people… those things make you feel more colors.

“I’m very comfortable here. God will tell. In the end I have a contract with Leeds. This is a matter for the clubs.”

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The midfielder has been speaking to Radio Marca about his season so far, after shining with Betis, who he joined on loan from Leeds in the summer.

He took advantage of a clause in his contract at Elland Road to leave on loan following relegation to the Championship, becoming one of several players to do so.

He had only been with the Whites since the summer of 2022 after joining from Bayern Munich but was largely unable to impress for the club in what proved to be a disappointing campaign for everyone involved.

He’s bounced back under Manuel Pellegrini, becoming a key player in his Betis side and already posting numbers that have put him in line for the best season of is career.

That saw him make Luis de la Fuente’s pre-list for his Spain squad for this international break, further recognition of his good performances and the midfielder has again revealed how happy he is, explaining what he learned at Leeds and why it’s helped him back in Spain.

“I have always based myself on the principle of working day by day, trusting in myself and seeking those results,” he said.

“Outside of Spain I have grown as a person. I was clear that returning to Spain was a great option.

“From the first moment I felt at home in Betis. I understand very well with Guido (Rodriguez), we make a great couple.

“In England I have learned to be a box to box. It’s a luxury to play with Isco, he makes everything easier.”

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That’s what OA Calcio are explaining on Thursday, as they look at the players who could be the catalysts of the rebirth of Italy’s young players.

The Leeds man is mentioned among those, as they explain that his presence in the squad ‘stands out’, before being told he will have to ‘rebuild himself’ with the national set up after some ‘dark months’ at Elland Road in the Championship.

That is the only way he will be able to return as a ‘protagonist’ in the senior set up, since Luciano Spalletti, despite being rather limited with striking options, has chosen to ignore him this time around.

This all comes after three substitute appearances under Daniel Park in wins against Huddersfield, Leicester and Plymouth, with his last start coming in the 1-0 loss against Stoke City.

It’s fair to say that Gnonto’s time at Leeds has been filled with ups and downs, and he is now facing a down moment in the season.

Perhaps a stint with the U21s is exactly what he needs to get back on track.

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Two days later, TuttoMercatoWeb said the winger is ready to leave the Whites in January, and the option to join the Serie A side was pushed forward.

Calcio Style now provide the latest on Lazio’s desire to sign the Leeds player.

Their president, Claudio Lotito, continues to follow the 20-year-old, and believes his profile would suit the Biancocelesti.

The Italian stance is that Gnonto is in favour of leaving the Championship side, in order to play at the highest level. A move to Lazio in January can help him achieve that and could also provide an opportunity to play in European competition.

It’s claimed a ‘costly loan’ deal with an option to buy set at €15m is ‘being evaluated’ by the Italian club. There’s no mention if this would be enough to convince Daniel Farke’s side to part ways with the attacker in the winter market.

The youngster is currently with Italy’s U21s and their manager, Carmine Nunziata, has heaped praise on him.

“Gnonto is a great guy, who presented himself very well but I had no doubts about this. He likes to play football and I know he will do it with us too,” he said, as quoted by Il Milanista.

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However, the Belgium born centre-back remained at Elland Road, where he has been almost ever-present under Daniel Farke.

Now, with the January transfer window approaching, stories are starting to appear about a potential Leeds exit for the 24-year-old, with Sacha Tavolieri bringing the latest information he has gathered in a video on YouTube.

Recalling that Club Brugge were already keen in the summer, the journalist explains that the interest is still there, and could be acted on.

In fact, Tavolieri states the Leeds defender is ‘interested’ in potentially moving to the Jupiler Pro League side, who will also be glad to know that the ‘price has gone down’ from €18m in the summer to €15m for January.

Now, the question is whether the Belgian side will be willing to pay that much for the Leeds player in the next transfer window, but if they are, then they might be able to get a deal done with the Elland Road side.

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We say this because Kicker in Germany are reporting that the 31-year-old coach has signed for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Maric was employed by Leeds between July 30th of 2022 until February 6th of this year, and had enjoyed stints at Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Salzburg prior to that.

They reveal the appointment has been made by Christian Freund, who has placed the coach with the youth team at the Bavarian side.

Bayern’s sports director knows the former Leeds man from their time together at Salzburg, where he assisted Marco Rose until 2022.

The idea is for Maric to be responsible for the ‘further development of young coaches’ and ensure that all levels of the youth teams have some sort of ‘uniform’ approach to them.

This would mean that there would be the same sporting philosophy at Bayern Munich throughout the age groups, facilitating any adaptation if a player were to be promoted.

The post From Leeds United… to Bayern Munich – Coach gets great opportunity after Elland Road exit appeared first on Sport Witness.

Corberán has been speaking to Panenka in Spain regarding his career to date, which has seen him working in various places in differing roles.

The Spanish boss has been at the Hawthorns since October last year, joining them after a short stint with Olympiacos in Greece.

His coaching career has been a varied one to date, with him initially starting out as a coach at Villarreal before moving to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad Club.

He returned to Spain with Alcorcon’s youth team before moving to Al-Nassr then managing Doxa Katokopias and Ermis Aradippou.

He made his first move to England in 2017 when he arrived as a coach in Leeds’ U21 set up, maintaining that role as well as stepping up to be a part of Marcelo Bielsa’s first team coaching set up during his time at Elland Road.

Indeed, Corberán was a key part of the process to bring Bielsa to Leeds in the first place, with director of football Victor Orta utilising him as part of the team sent to Argentina to convince the legendary coach of the move.

They were obviously successful in those efforts and Corberán admits it was an experience which ended up shaping him considerably.

“My process at Leeds begins with Iván Bravo, who is the person who managed the Aspire Academy in Qatar and who today presides over Alcorcón,” he said.

“Andrea Radrizzani thought of him to coordinate his project, and he in turn thought of Victor Orta as sports director and me to coach the club’s reserve team, with the idea of implementing a game model that was consistent with that of the first team.

“Later, Victor and Andrea suggested that I join the first team as a future plan; The coach they had chosen was Marcelo Bielsa. I travelled with them to Buenos Aires to meet Marcelo and present the project to him.

“That agreement reached with him was another turning point in my career. I was lucky enough to live and work for two years with one of the best coaches in the world.”

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The Italian went through bosses like they were candy during his time at Elland Road, hiring and firing managers seemingly at random during his time in charge of the club.

Well, it seems that wasn’t just something he did especially with Leeds and as Corriere della Sera’s Brescia’s edition cover today, he’s up to the same old tricks with Brescia.

The newspaper explains that Cellino has gone through six managers in the calendar year, a new record for the club, albeit a negative one.

They say that Cellino is ‘never happy’ and that’s been proven again as he changed managers once again this week, sacking Daniele Gastaldello in favour of new man, Rolando Moran.

Gastaldello had been in charge for 263 days, a huge number given he was preceded by Davide Possanzini, who lasted 13 days, Pep Clotet who managed 21 and Alfredo Aglietti, who got to 26 days.

2023 has seen Brescia managed by six different managers so far, including the four-day interim spell for Luca Belingheri, a new record that neither Brescia nor Cellino should be particularly proud of.

Not that he’ll care, of course, having done a similar thing at Leeds, with his three-year reign seeing him going through a plethora of managers and various other controversies. He’s now repeating the pattern in Italy, much to Brescia’s dismay.

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The midfielder wasn’t able to stop the Whites from being relegated, and didn’t contribute much along the way.

Calciomercato state the Old Lady would have received almost €40m, if Leeds had stayed in the top flight due to an automatic purchase clause.

Following a nightmare spell at Leeds, Massimiliano Allegri had to include the 25-year-old in his plans, after Juve weren’t able to find him a new club in the last window.

Due to injuries to other players, Allegri used the American as a right wing-back, and with his displays, he ‘forcefully took back his place’ at the Turin club. He has also been used in midfield.

After a series of impressive performances, ‘everything changed’ for the ex-Schalke man at Juventus. Due to the change of status, the report states the Italian club want to hand him a new deal.

McKennie’s deal expires in 2025 and his latest form would make him an interesting option for a few clubs in the upcoming windows. It’s said Juve have informed his agent of their desire to renew the contract and have also scheduled a meeting in the next few weeks.

To sum it up, McKennie has put his disappointing spell at Leeds behind him, and with the new deal at Juve, he’s now set to receive a pay rise.

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