Cultural Leonesa make approach to appoint Leeds United coach Carlos Corberan as new manager

Corberan is weighing up his future at Elland Road with Cultural seeking to tempt him back to Spain with a senior managerial role.

The club occupy a place in Spain’s third division but are controlled by Qatar’s Aspire Academy, the development centre which Leeds established an official partnership with in 2018.

United board member Ivan Bravo, the head of Aspire, oversees the running of Cultural as part of his role and Leeds were briefly involved in a tie-up with the club during the 2017-18 season.

Ouasim Bouy and Yosuke Ideguchi both spent time on loan there, though neither midfielder played regularly and no deals with Cultural were struck this term.

Bravo is understood to have singled out Corberan as a possible replacement for former Deportivo La Coruna defender José Manuel Aira on the strength of Corberan’s impressive impact with the development squad at Elland Road.

United’s Under-23s won their league title and the PDL play-off final on his watch this season and were heavily represented in first-team games under head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Corberan has occupied a dual role in the past 12 months, continuing to manage the Under-23s but operating as part of Bielsa’s backroom staff at senior level.

Leeds will battle to keep Corberan on board having been impressed by his impact since his appointment to the academy two years ago.

A source close to the club told the YEP that Corberan was “highly regarded and has a growing reputation across the industry. All concerned would like to see Carlos stay.”