Leeds United manager hunt, incoming owners, transfer chief and star men - good news and bad news

Here’s a look at some of the events that will either leave Whites smiling or grimacing prior to the 2023/24 Championship season, with a good news twist for the glass half full and a bad news counter argument for the glass half empty. Something for everyone.

Willy Gnonto

Good news

Gnonto has no relegation release clause. Where others will likely walk out the door this summer as soon as their clause is activated by the requisite offer, Gnonto can only go if Leeds decide their valuation is met. The idea of tearing the Championship apart might just take his fancy. He would, you'd think, score and assist a very decent number. A promotion always looks good on a CV.

Bad news

Gnonto is very good, he made a big impact for one so young last season and his potential is huge. He's a full Italy international and will want to remain so. The discourse around others with international aspirations, see Robin Koch and Rodrigo, suggests a move is vital to achieving them. Serie A clubs chastened by the fact that they missed the chance to get him early on, won't want to do so again and will see Leeds' relegation as their big opportunity to bring him home. That kind of interest, especially if it comes with Champions League involvement, might be very difficult for Gnonto to turn down. If his very best pal Crysencio Summerville heads for the exit, that might not bode so well for Leeds.

Tyler Adams

Good news

Straw clutching time. Adams is a wanted man. 49ers Enterprises want him and they're very keen to keep him. They know his importance as a player around whom a promotion-worthy side could be built. Interest in him is to be expected and a big money move would be no surprise but might the fact that he's not currently at full fitness play into Leeds' hands? Adams is expected to be ready for the new season and that could well be enough for some potential suitors. For others his recent surgery and injury recovery period might check their desire to spend big on him right now.

Bad news

Like Gnonto, he's very good. He's an established senior international, a leader for his country and a player who should be playing in the English top flight, if not one of Europe's other big leagues. If you buy Adams you don't just get a good defensive midfielder, you get a leader, a big personality who can impact a dressing room. And if he wants to go, because an immediate return to the big time is what he's after, there will be lots of interested parties holding out their arms to welcome him.

Nick Hammond

Good news

Leeds confirmed the appointment on Thursday morning and it was not before time. The need for an experienced football negotiator and transfer specialist was great and Hammond appears to fit the bill. His single transfer window at Newcastle United was exactly what they needed and helped to transform their fortunes. That kind of transfer window, with specific needs met, would be a big early plus for 49ers Enterprises.

Bad news

Hammond has just arrived, there is no manager in place yet, the domestic window is already open and the players return for pre-season training on July 2. Time is of the essence, he's got a huge to-do list and not a lot of time in which to complete it. There are complex situations that need working out, big players to sweet talk into staying and lots of exits to manage. To win what looks like a typically brutal Championship next season, Leeds will have to be at it, winning, from the off. They're behind the eight ball a little, so if it's catch up Hammond is playing he has to play it well.

49ers Enterprises

Good news

The takeover is agreed and that has allowed the group, spearheaded by Paraag Marathe, to set about the huge amount of work that needs to be done. Had the ownership uncertainty dragged on much longer, the consequences for next season could have been dire. From the noises around the investment vehicle, there will be a good chunk of working capital to put to good use as they seek to improve and grow the team and the club as an operation on and off the pitch. There are areas in which their expertise should come in handy. There are individuals with access to huge amounts of wealth involved. A full review of the football operation side of the club is a shrewd, vital starting point. There is reasonable reason for excitement in the fanbase at the outset of a new era.

Bad news

A deal to take over the club in the event of relegation was not agreed weeks or months ago, as it might have been had Andrea Radrizzani and 49ers Enterprises both been so minded. The takeover is yet to be fully ratified and complete, although it is expected to go through. Time is shorter than they might have liked when it comes to preparations for the upcoming campaign - just 49 days lie between them and a Friday night Championship opener live on TV. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, as they say, and the ownership group know there are many decisions that must be nailed in summer number one. Their sports business acumen is obvious but their football acumen? Talk of redeveloping Elland Road and boosting its capacity will surely remain just that until such a time as Premier League status is restored. The jury will be out for a while yet.

Carlos Corberan

Good news

He knows the club. No not in that cliched, fatuous sense, but in a very practical sense. A manager coming into the club with little prior in-depth knowledge of the squad will likely have a more challenging time of it trying to quickly get to grips with what it needs. The turnaround will be lightning quick. Corberan knows many in the dressing room and some of the youngsters from working at Leeds previously. He knows the fanbase and its expectations and the culture around the club. His other big plus is his Championship record. What he did at Huddersfield was largely miraculous. His results at West Brom belied the off-field unhappiness at the club. He worked with Bielsa and no matter your view on how much that counts, it does seem to count.

Bad news

There will be sections of the fanbase who are underwhelmed, so he will have to win them over with results. The demand for immediate promotion will make patience a scarce commodity. He was popular with many, but not all players, during his time at Leeds, as is probably the case with most managers. The Bielsa link will create a certain level of expectation in terms of not only success but entertainment factor. He's in work, with a long contract thanks, at least in part, to those links to Leeds during last season, and compensation will have to be agreed.

Daniel Farke

Good news

Promotions, two of them. He knows what it takes to get out of the Championship and into the Premier League. Leeds, who will represent so many teams' cup final, will need to win a tonne of games to get out of the division and Farke's Norwich did that in the second tier. He represents a safe pair of hands and few could argue vehemently with his appointment. He's out of work too, so there will be few complications, if any.

Bad news

Those who wanted Brendan Rodgers or Graham Potter might be a little underwhelmed and will need to be won over. Promotion was no problem for him but the Premier League was, albeit with a club that struggles to break out of the yo-yo mould. Is he a short-term solution to Leeds' most pressing problem or is he capable of representing a long-term coach who brings stability. Leeds have had too many coaches and too many voices in too short a period of time. This appointment needs to stick, really.

Scott Parker

Good news

Promotions, two of them. He won the play-offs with Fulham, taking them back up at the first time of asking after relegation, so he knows the scenario Leeds find themselves in. His second promotion, with Bournemouth, was even better because it came automatically with a second-place finish. Like Farke, he knows how to get out of the division.

Bad news

Scripted movements. That line, uttered about Bielsa's Leeds and their attack, did not sit well with Leeds fans, who have longer memories than elephants. He failed to keep Fulham in the Premier League after promotion and there was tension with the ownership. The Premier League proved difficult for him at Bournemouth too, and frustrations over recruitment that he aired in the media, led to a breakdown in his relationship with the higher ups.