Leeds United Championship rivals eye up former Lazio manager as head coach hunt gathers pace

Former Lazio boss Igor Tudor is reportedly of interest to Leeds United's Championship rivals Burnley as the club continue their search for a new manager. Burnley have been without a head coach since Vincent Kompany left the club late last month to take over German giants Bayern Munich.

Kompany had spent two seasons at Turf Moor and took the club up to the Premier League in his first year in the job, but he couldn't find the traction the Clarets needed to avoid an immediate return to the second tier last time around. As such, before Burnley can start to prepare themselves for another gruelling 46-game season in the Championship, they must first appoint a new manager.

A host of names have been linked with the role, but according to journalist Tom Collomosse, the Clarets are keen on landing Tudor, who resigned from his position at Lazio earlier this month. The 46-year-old only spent a few months in the Italian capital, taking over from Maurizio Sarri in March, but he managed to lead the club to seventh in Serie A, which was enough to seal Europa League football.

Rather than stick around to take Lazio into next season, though, Tudor opted to walk away after reportedly failing to reach an agreement with the club's decision makers about summer transfers. As such, the Croatian is looking for a new job, but it remains to be seen if Burnley would be able to lure him to the Championship. Tudor, who spent a huge chunk of his playing days with Juventus, has been working as a manager since stepping into the dugout at Hajduk Split in 2013. Since then he has had spells with PAOK, Karabukspor, Galatasaray, Udinese, Split again, Hellas Verona and Marseille before his short stint at the Stadio Olimpico. He has also worked at Juventus as an assistant manager during Andrea Pirlo's spell in charge.

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Burnley are casting their net far and wide in order to find their new manager then it seems. However, a host of candidates closer to home have also been linked with former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior one name apparently being considered, while Scott Parker and Frank Lampard have also been linked. Craig Bellamy, who was Kompany's assistant prior to his exit, has been handed the head coach reins on an interim basis until a permanent appointment is made. There have been suggestions that the Welshman, who has never held a senior management role could also be a candidate.

Whoever Burnley bring in, the expectation will be to win promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking with the club eager to ensure their stay in the second tier is a short one. They may also be forced to deal without a number of last season’s most impressive players, with James Trafford one who appears close to sealing a move back to the Premier League.