Leeds United fired Javi Gracia

He Leeds United announced the dismissal of its coach, the Spaniard Javi Gracia, this Wednesdayafter less than three months in office, who will be replaced by Sam Allardyce in the remaining four games of the season.

Gracia arrived at Leeds with the aim of rescuing the Whites and, although the club are outside the relegation zone, in the twelve games he has managedolo achieved three wins and twelve losses. In addition, Leeds became the Premier League club with the most goals conceded in a calendar month in April, following wins against Arsenal (4-1), Liverpool (1-6), Crystal Palace (5-1) and Bournemouth (4-1 ). This was Gracia’s second Premier League experience, having managed Watford from January 2018 to September 2019, with whom he reached the FA Cup final.

Leeds is seventeenth in the table with 30 points, the same number as Nottingham Forest, which is in the relegation position, but has a worse goal difference. The Elland Road side are left to play Manchester City, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur to complete the league.

Gracia’s replacement at Leeds will be Sam Allardycewho returns to the Premier after a final spell with West Bromwich Albion in 2021. Allardyce, who coached 18 seasons in the top flight and was relegated only with West Brom, will be Leeds’ fourth manager this year, following Jesse Marsch, Michael Skubal and Grace.

Before sacking Gracia, Leeds also announced the departure of Víctor Orta, the club’s sporting director since 2017. The Spaniard was responsible for the signing of Marcelo Bielsa in 2018, which saw the Whites promoted to the Premier League in 2020, in addition to being in charge of transfer policy players and coaches in recent years.