Leeds United's Championship rivals face major blow as manager 'potential target' for Premier League club

West Bromwich Albion could be at risk of suffering a huge early blow to their summer plans with reports naming Carlos Corberan as a ‘potential target’ for Leicester City.

Newly-crowned Championship title-winners Leicester are among a number of clubs across the Premier League and Championship facing uncertainty over their respective managers. Enzo Maresca has been touted as a top candidate to take over at Chelsea and multiple reports claim he is in talks over a move to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have been granted permission to speak with Maresca and remain in talks over a compensation fee, with Leicester reportedly wanting around £10million. But the former Manchester City assistant coach is keen on making the step up and all parties are closing in on the agreement of a five-year deal.

A move to Chelsea is looking increasingly likely for Maresca and those in charge at the King Power Stadium are already thought to be weighing up prospective replacements. And talkSPORT reporter Jason Bourne has named Corberan as an option currently being discussed.

Corberan has been consistently impressive during two years at West Brom and guided them to the Championship play-offs this season. The Baggies were beaten in the semi-finals by the eventually promoted Southampton but looked well set for another push at promotion.

Get a personalised Leeds United news round-up when you sign up for our free Leeds United newsletter email.

Much of the credit for West Brom’s improvement lay with Corberan and so his potential exit would be a major blow for the upcoming campaign. Uncertainty over their manager’s future would also hinder summer transfer plans, with those in charge of recruitment at the Hawthorns unsure whether they are signing players for Corberan or a potential successor. The Spaniard previously managed Huddersfield Town having joined the Terriers after serving as an assistant to Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road.

A number of Championship promotion hopefuls are now facing uncertainty over who will be in the dugout next season with early summer speculation centred mostly around managerial appointments. Chelsea and Bayern Munich are two big clubs eyeing new bosses and the latter is thought to be closing in on Vincent Kompany, who was in charge as Burnley were relegated from the Premier League this season.

Hull City are also on the hunt for a new managerial appointment, having sacked Liam Rosenior shortly after missing out on the play-offs. Norwich City are in a similar position after parting ways with David Wagner, following their 4-0 play-off semi-final defeat at Leeds earlier this month.

Leeds are expected to back their manager, Daniel Farke, despite play-off final disappointment and that stability could provide an early advantage. Farke has made no secret of the difficulty he faced arriving last summer with so much up in the air, and the German will welcome a summer in which decisions are made early and signings brought in with time to prepare.

Failure to achieve promotion means some difficult decisions will need to be taken but those in charge at Elland Road have a full summer in which to make those choices and then reinvest into the playing squad. Leeds will expect to be battling the likes of West Brom and Burnley for a top-two finish.