Troy Deeney reveals his Leeds United offer, Whites interest and what Javi Gracia does best

Striker Deeney had been at Watford for seven-and-a-half years when Gracia was appointed as head coach of the Hornets back in January 2018. Nine days later, Deeney led the line in Gracia’s first Premier League game in charge at Stoke City in which a goalless draw proved the first point en route to a successful battle against relegation and even better was to follow.

Gracia then led the Hornets to an 11th-placed finish and FA Cup final the following term before being sacked just four games into the following season as part of a dismissal that Deeney felt was harsh. But three and a half years later, Gracia is back in the English game as new head coach of Leeds, much to the delight of Deeney who has even offered as services to United’s new head coach.

Writing in his column in The Sun, Deeney said: “Javi Gracia will have instant success at Leeds, I really do believe that. I go back to my time at Watford when he was manager. He came in and replaced Marco Silva in January 2018 with a very quick turnaround. His first game was Stoke City away on a Wednesday night on deadline day. It was absolutely lashing down, a proper crappy night, and we had just brought in Gerard Deulofeu.

"He got us organised quickly and Deulofeu looked sharp but what I liked about that evening was how he reacted quickly under pressure. Midfielder Ben Watson was originally in the starting line-up only for the club to decide in the hotel before kick-off to sell him. Talk about being thrown into the deep end, and we still managed to get a 0-0 draw with all of that in the background. Imagine what he can do now at a huge club with a very good team.

"And that’s what he has with the likes of Wilfried Gnonto, a contender for Young Player of the Year at the end of the season, the American boys Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie and winger Jack Harrison. The fact Javi has accepted this flexible contract, and taken on 100 per cent of the risk, it shows you the kind of man he is. And when good things happen to good people, you can’t help but like it.”

Deeney, 34, currently captain at Birmingham City, added: “I have been texting him recently and he is really excited and so grateful for the opportunity. I follow quite a lot of Leeds pages on Twitter because my dad used to be a fan back in the day, so I have a vested interest.

"I said to Javi that if there was anything I could do to help, even if it is just getting him to understand just how big the club is. When his name was mentioned at first I was quite surprised. Then the more I thought about it and looked at it, it makes absolute sense.

"Every time I have watched Leeds this year, I have felt they needed an element of stability. Everyone has been a bit crazy. They need organisation, they need structure. They have the players and the quality but they just need to settle down and stop letting in the number of goals they have been conceding. They’ve been running around like school children at times.

"With Javi, the thing he does best is understanding who he has and what they are good at. At Watford, he knew he had three very good midfielders in Etienne Capoue, Will Hughes and Abdoulaye Doucoure — a balanced left footer, a high energy presser and a box-to-box runner.

“He then decided to play with two wingers but allowed Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra to float from side to side. It started out as a 4-3-3 but it was fluid with the ball. It wasn’t just about telling people to run around and do what they wanted. It is about being solid and then he lets his front three go and win a game. He is very meticulous for whoever the opponent is and is very smart and understanding in terms of exploiting a team’s weaknesses.”

Reflecting on Gracia’s Watford dismissal, Deeney concluded: “I was disappointed that Javi got sacked in September 2019 because I don’t think he did anything wrong. He got us to an FA Cup final, and finished 14th and 11th in his two full seasons. There were things that happened after the 6-0 final defeat to Manchester City that were out of his control. But it was the way that he conducted himself as a man that impressed me.

"He wasn’t allowed to come in and say goodbye to the players, so he texted everyone individually. He could have easily left out the back door but he didn’t, and what he said to me privately meant a lot. I now think Leeds have got a great chance of staying up. Can you imagine what it is going to be like as an opposition player when you have Elland Road rocking and it is a must-win game? No thanks. It will be so intimidating.”