Manager 'declines' offer to join Leeds United's Championship promotion rivals as new favourite emerges

Burnley are facing uncertainty in their pursuit of a new manager with reports suggesting Steve Cooper has ‘declined’ the opportunity to take over at Turf Moor.

The Clarets recently saw their relegation from the Premier League confirmed, joining Sheffield United and Luton Town with all three promoted sides going straight back down. Manager Vincent Kompany does look set to earn a huge promotion, however, with the former defender seemingly on his way to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich.

Reports have linked Kompany with the Bayern job for some time and those in charge at Turf Moor will have been scoping out replacements of their own in anticipation of his exit. A more optimistic option was Cooper but the Athletic reports he will not pursue a role with Burnley and is instead awaiting a return to the Premier League.

Cooper enjoyed two excellent seasons at Nottingham Forest, leading them to promotion from the Championship before securing their Premier League status. He was sacked in December 2023 but has remained a top candidate for several clubs looking to replace managers ever since.

The 44-year-old was thought to be a candidate to take over at Leeds last summer, following relegation under Sam Allardyce. But 49ers Enterprises, who took over shortly after the campaign ended, experienced similar issues with Cooper keen to wait for his chance in the top-flight.

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Scott Parker has emerged as the bookies' favourite to succeed Kompany at Burnley, following news of Cooper’s decision. The former midfielder has previously led Bournemouth and Fulham to Championship promotion but was most recently sacked by Belgian side Club Brugge after just 12 games in charge. Frank Lampard is second-favourite behind Parker.

Burnley are among several Championship promotion hopefuls set to be searching for a new man in the dugout, with Kompany’s exit close to being confirmed. Hull City sacked Liam Rosenior after missing out on the play-offs, while Norwich City parted ways with David Wagner after losing 4-0 at Leeds in the play-off semi-finals. Sunderland are also on the lookout for a permanent manager, having finished this season with Mike Dodds in interim charge.

Leeds hold an advantage over their rivals in that respect, with Daniel Farke widely expected to remain in charge despite play-off heartbreak. Chairman Paraag Marathe stressed the importance of stability going into the summer in a recent interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post.

"Daniel has been fantastic,” Marathe said. "I'm excited about working with him again this season. We set out to do this, we had a long-term plan, a long-term commitment, not just me to him but him to me. And you know we have a lot of work to do and we have to see our plan through. He has been tremendous, with a steady hand, the right temperament.

“If you think about the circumstances that he first came in, I can't remember exactly how many days we had between his official hiring and the first day of training, but it wasn't many and you saw that how our start to the season was with just so many ins and outs and different difficult, challenging player situations. And I thought he did a tremendous job. And so I'm excited about getting back at it with him as my partner and with our leadership team. I just think I really feel confident about the season particularly because we have at least a four or five week head start on what we had last year."