Former Leeds United coach and Whites transfer target take huge step towards play-offs

The Spaniard, who spent three years in charge of the Whites' Under 23s side at Thorp Arch and won the Professional Development League title, was part of Marcelo Bielsa's first team coaching set-up and helped Leeds earn promotion to the English top flight.

With the Championship title won, Corberan was approached by Huddersfield in the summer of 2020 and decided to leave Leeds in search of more management experience.

They finished 20th in his first season in charge but this season is almost certainly going to end with play-off involvement. This afternoon's impressive 2-0 victory at Middlesbrough moved Corberan's third-placed side onto 73 points from 43 games and 10 clear of both Blackburn Rovers in seventh and Boro, who are currently eighth.

Naby Sarr's opener was followed by a second from Jordan Rhodes, who was played in on goal by former Leeds transfer target Lewis O'Brien and provided a sublime finish.

A 17-game unbeaten run in the middle of the season helped transform Huddersfield into genuine promotion contenders and now only meetings with Barnsley, Coventry City and Bristol City remain as Corberan attempts to keep the Terriers in the play-off spots.

Former Leeds defender Tom Lees, a free signing last summer after his release by Sheffield Wednesday, has been a stalwart for Corberan this season making 41 appearances.

Corberan's success this season inevitably led to speculation that Leeds would turn to him when Bielsa departed.

When rumours linking him with a return to Elland Road surfaced Corberan insisted he was thinking of nothing but his next game as Huddersfield boss.

"I understand that in football there is a need to talk or to see rumours or to show, I don't know, opinions. But my full focus and attention is Peterborough," he said at the start of March, after Bielsa had been sacked and replaced by Jesse Marsch within the space of 24 hours.

“The only thing I can tell you is that – giving the last answer to the previous question [about what Corberan learned from Bielsa] – is that for me it would be difficult for me to give to Marcelo what he gave me in terms of the knowledge. It would be a challenge for me, what he did for me was impossible to give back. My only consideration of Leeds right now was this: the respect and the pride that I feel to have been working with Marcelo there, and my only mentality and focus and attention of course is the game against Peterborough, because I know how important and challenging it’s going to be."