Jesse Marsch confirmed as new Leeds United head coach

The Elland Road club move swiftly to replace Marcelo Bielsa

New Leeds Utd head coach Jesse Marsch

Leeds United have appointed Jesse Marsch as head coach on a deal that runs until 2025. The former RB Leipzig has been confirmed as the replacement for Marcelo Bielsa, pending international clearance.

Cameron Toshack will be his assistant, the rest of the staff yet to be announced.

Bielsa was sacked on Sunday after three-and-a-half highly successful years at the helm, with owner Andrea Radrizzani saying he “had to act in order to secure Premier League status”.

The West Yorkshire club have acted swiftly to name a successor, with Marsch agreeing to become their new head coach, pending international clearance, after putting pen to paper on a deal that runs to June 2025.

“We are delighted to welcome Jesse to the club and excited for him to lead us into this new chapter,” said Victor Orta, Leeds’ director of football, on the club website.

47-year-old Marsch is a native of Racine, Wisconsin and won nine trophies in a 14-year MLS playing career. He has coached since 2010, including as an assistant for the US men’s national team at that year’s World Cup and a head coach for three teams owned by Red Bull (New York, Salzburg and, latterly, Leipzig).

Leeds are two points and two places above the drop zone but, with key players due to return from injury in the coming weeks, unhappy supporters wanted Bielsa, the man who restored their Premier League place after a 16-year exile, to see the job through.

Radrizzani saw things differently, though, and made the change, with 48-year-old Marsch the man enlisted to lead a charge away from the bottom three.

A two-time winner of the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg, Marsch last coached at RB Leipzig, whom he left after just 21 games in December.

Orta added: "Jesse is someone we identified a number of years ago during his time at Red Bull Salzburg and we believe his philosophy and style of football aligns with that of the club and will suit the players very well.

"We have a long-term plan and firmly believe he can take Leeds United to the next level and are excited for what the future holds."

Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear said: "We are really pleased to have quickly secured the services of our first-choice head coach.

"Whilst the short-term objective for Jesse is obvious, we believe he has the courage and ambition to build on the strong foundations we have created over the last four years and elevate the performance of the club over the long-term.

"He had a great deal of success with New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg and has demonstrated during our many meetings that he is a great fit with the footballing culture of Leeds United.

"At this challenging time, it is important that the club remains united from top to bottom. The fans have been amazing throughout Andrea's tenure and we have no doubt they will unite behind Jesse and ensure the team quickly returns to winning with style."

The club presumably see Marsch, who has a similar preference for high-octane pressing as his predecessor, as someone who can build on Bielsa's work. Adding a touch more defensive discipline to an already strong team unit would perhaps be the first priority to stem a worrying slide towards the relegation zone.

Despite the failure of his Leipzig tenure - which lasted just 21 games - Marsch was linked almost immediately with a role under Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United, proving his reputation remains very much in tact.

The interim boss at Old Trafford has high regard for Marsch after the American had served as his assistant at Leipzig from 2018 to 2019.

It was the positive impression Marsch made in that role that led to his move to Salzburg, where he twice won an Austrian league and cup double, gained Champions League experience and helped nurture Erling Haaland.

Prior to that he spent three years in charge of another club in the same group, New York Red Bulls, after taking his first head coach job at Montreal Impact. He was MLS coach of the year with the Red Bulls in 2015.

As a player, Marsch spent his entire professional career in the United States after graduating from Princeton University, playing for MLS sides DC United, Chicago Fire and Chivas USA.

He won the MLS Cup three times before retiring in 2010 and moving into coaching as an assistant with the US national side to long-time friend and mentor Bob Bradley, under whom he played at Princeton, Chicago and Chivas.