Aitor Karanka closing in on Leeds United post

Former Middlesbrough manager and Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka is closing in on being appointed as Leeds United’s next boss, according to Spanish newspaper Sport (via Sport Witness).

The Championship outfit are on the hunt for a new head coach following the surprise resignation of Garry Monk last week, after the 38-year-old failed to agree a new long-term deal at Elland Road.

This is all after their best season since 2011, in which Monk led the side to seventh place in the second tier, and to within just five points of the play-off places.

Although there would have been disappointment around the club that they didn’t make the top six, they were in position to do so for much of 2017, there’s little doubting the excellent work Monk did this season, so much so that the talk was about what was happening on the pitch as opposed to off it.

Nonetheless, his resignation has opened up an incredible opportunity for someone, and it is former Boro boss Karanka who is reportedly closing in on being appointed Monk’s successor.

The 43-year-old lost his job at the Riverside Stadium earlier this season after winning just four of their first 27 Premier League matches, although before then had done a remarkable job to take the club from mid-table mediocrity in the Championship to promotion to the promised land.

And his efforts at Middlesbrough must surely intrigue Leeds fans who themselves are hoping for return to the top-flight for the first time since 2004, and with that experience under his belt, as well as working at Spanish giants Real Madrid as an assistant, Karanka could be the man to end Leeds’ barren run without Premier League football.