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Leeds United’s hunt for Jesse Marsch’s replacement is “well advanced”, according to chief executive Angus Kinnear.
Marsch was sacked last Monday and Under-21 coach Michael Skubala has been in temporary charge amid setbacks in the search process.
Feyenoord’s Arne Slot ruled himself out, while an approach for Rayo Vallecano’s Andoni Iraola was blocked.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou says he is “shutting out” links with the job.
Another target was West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan, a former assistant to Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, but he signed a new deal with the Championship side a day after Marsch’s sacking.
As of Friday, Leeds had interviewed their four main candidates to replace the American.
Writing in his programme notes before Sunday’s game against Manchester United at Elland Road, Kinnear admitted it had been a “challenging” week but said an appointment would be “prompt”.
He added that he and director of football Victor Orta were fully aware of chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s desire for a quick end to the search.
“The search for a new head coach is well advanced,” he said.
“The task is being able to align our list of prospects – which has been built and evolved over many seasons – with current availability and the openness of candidates to accept a new role in mid-season.
“While we have confidence in the caretaker team, we know the importance of a prompt appointment and, if Victor and I are in any doubt, we have Andrea’s Twitter account to keep the pressure on.”
