Leeds United eye West Brom boss Carlos Corberan amid £2m revelation | OneFootball

The Baggies manager has worked wonders at The Hawthorns so far this season.

West Bromwich Albion have started the season near-perfectly, and a lot of credit has to go to their manager, Carlos Corberan.

However, it has now been revealed by Football Insider, that the 41-year-old does have a £2 million release clause at The Hawthorns.

This news comes as pressure starts to mount on Leeds United boss Daniel Farke, with supporters of the Yorkshire club interested in taking Corberan on board if their current manager is sacked in the near future.

Corberan has previously spent time at Elland Road, managing the U21s team from 2017 to 2020 before taking on the Huddersfield Town job.

£2 million release clause is extremely enticing for Leeds

A release clause as low as £2 million for a manager of Corberan's quality will give Leeds an extremely tough decision to make in the coming weeks.

Farke has struggled to maintain the standards that he set while at Norwich City with the Whites, despite the squad being packed full of talent.

Contrary to this, Corberan has worked with very little at The Hawthorns in comparison to Farke, and managed to produce a superb result in his first full season at the club in 2023/24.

Leeds have started the new campaign with a bit of a bump following their loss to Southampton in the play-off final back in May, and losing key players such as Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter to the Premier League was a huge blight on their summer.

Corberan could perhaps be the manager to take the team forward in the next few years, after proving that he can work on a limited budget, something that although is not entirely needed at Elland Road, would be a useful factor in the future if Leeds are not promoted.

However, the low release clause also means that West Brom potentially have a fight on their hands to prove to their manager why he should stick around if the Yorkshire club do come calling.

Corberan has excelled in England

Following his role at Elland Road previously, the Spaniard made the short journey across West Yorkshire to Huddersfield to take up his first managerial job in England, and it was one that worked out excellently.

The Terriers struggled to recover after relegation from the Premier League, and survived in the Championship by just three points in 2019/20, before making the decision to hire Corberan for the next season.

It proved to be a slow burner, with Huddersfield still recovering from a poor two years before the current West Brom manager arrived, and although they stayed up by more points than the previous season, they slipped to 20th.

Nevertheless, the 2021/22 campaign was an excellent one, with players and supporters buying into Corberan's style of play from the off.

The John Smith's Stadium became a place of hope under his management, and the Terriers finished 3rd in the table, earning a place in the play-offs, and eventually reaching Wembley.

They lost in the final in extremely controversial circumstances to Nottingham Forest, after two penalty claims were waived away by the referee, resulting in a 1-0 defeat.

Now with West Brom following a short stint in Greece with Olympiacos, Corberan has continued to prove that he is one of, if not, the best managers in the Championship currently.

He reached the play-offs with a fairly average squad by all accounts in 2023/24, and has found himself top of the table in the early stages of this season despite working under an EFL Business Plan due to the club reportedly being close to breaching financial regulations.

Farke must get results to avoid the sack

Leeds have struggled to start this season well off the back of a play-off final loss of their own.

Proportions of the fan-base are unhappy with Farke, and after losing to Burnley at the weekend, a potential promotion rival, some might have expected him to either walk or be sacked following it.

Nevertheless, it is a results-based business, and if the former Norwich manager can start producing wins in the coming weeks, then he will save his job for the time being. However, the knowledge of Corberan's cheap release clause will play in the minds of both Leeds supporters and the board.