Leeds United are hoping to be able to confirm the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa as their new manager in the next 24 hours after days of laborious negotiations.

The Argentinian had initially appeared reluctant to take a job in the second tier of English football, having spent the majority of his coaching career in more salubrious surroundings, but appears to have finally been persuaded to take on the challenge in an ambitious move by the Leeds board.

The Yorkshire club had been weighing up whether to turn their attention to Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce because of the time it was taking to reach an agreement with Bielsa, but it seems they have finally landed their first-choice target.

Barring any last-minute hitches, Bielsa’s appointment should be confirmed in the next few hours as Telegraph Sport understands the 62-year-old has agreed, in principle, to take the job.

Leeds have not played in the Premier League since 2004 and a procession of managers have failed to live up to the expectation of promotion from the Championship, but Bielsa’s arrival is an intriguing prospect.

Bielsa coached Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, where he had a big influence on Mauricio Pochettino (right) credit: AP

The former Argentina, Chile, Athletic Bilbao and Marseille manager has been a huge influence on the likes of Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino’s ideas and methods and will give Leeds a completely new identity on the pitch.

There are those who doubt whether Bielsa will be able to transfer his ideas successfully to the Championship, but Leeds’ decision to think outside of the box in their search for a replacement for Paul Heckingbottom has captured the imagination of the majority of supporters.

It is already thought that Bielsa will order Leeds’ players, who finished 13th in the Championship last term, to report early for pre-season training so that he has more time to get them used to his style of football and standards.