Former Leeds United boss 'number one choice' for Championship club as sack decision looms

Championship club Watford are reportedly set to sack manager Paulo Pezzolano after a slow start to the season - and a former Leeds United boss is said to be ‘number one target’ to become his successor at Vicarage Road.

The Uruguayan head coach was named as Hornets boss in May this year and he was expected to spearhead an improved campaign after Watford ended last season in fourteenth place in the second tier. Pezzolano’s squad was boosted by the arrivals of the likes of defender Marc Bola, midfielder Nampalys Mendy and former Bayern Munich youngster Nestory Irankunda during the summer transfer window.

However, the opening two months of the season have been somewhat underwhelming for the Hornets after they won just three of their 11 league games so far and that has left them sitting in eleventh place in the table ahead of the second international break of the season. Despite claiming a 2-1 home win against Oxford United on Saturday, it now appears that victory could represent the final game of Pezzolano’s reign - and former Leeds United head coach Javi Gracia is said to be at the very top of the list for possible replacements seven years after his first spell in charge at Vicarage Road.

Sky Sports News posted an update on X suggesting the current boss was going to hold ‘crunch talks’ with the Vicarage Road hierarchy on Tuesday. The update read: “Watford are set to sack manager Paulo Pezzolano with the club 11th in the table Crunch talks are being held today with the club hierarchy expected to part ways with the 42-year-old. Sky Sports News understands Javi Gracia is the number one target to replace Pezzolano.”

What did Javi Gracia say about his departure from Leeds United?

Former Valencia and Malaga head coach Gracia was appointed as Leeds United manager in February 2023 as the Whites battled against relegation from the Premier League. However, after winning just three of his 12 games in charge, the Spaniard was sacked and replaced by Sam Allardyce with just four games remaining in the season.

A statement released after his departure in early May 2023 read: “I’m grateful for this opportunity and proud of the team, both players and coaching staff. That's how I would like to summarise my time at Leeds United. I would have preferred a different moment, but the circumstances have changed. We arrived on a short three-month contract. And we did it because we believed in this team. We considered our chances and had confidence. And we know it is possible. We are not talking about miracles, but about the efficient result of a well done work and a process of improvement.

“The coaching staff and I took over the team in 19th position, with a run of ten games without a win. Today, after eleven games played and four games left in the league, the team is out of the relegation zone and with a good chance of achieving the objective. It has been a very intense period for many reasons. A busy schedule, injuries and a young but skilled team. However, we managed to position ourselves better than our rivals and this is shown by the results.

“Compared to our direct rivals and since we were hired, we are the team with the most points - eleven in total - compared to our main competitors. I am confident that the team will achieve its objective. It is a committed squad full of quality.”

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