Marcelo Bielsa will wait to hear Leeds' financial situation before deciding future

Marcelo Bielsa will not make a decision on his future as Leeds United manager until he discovers the financial implications of the club’s failure to win promotion to the Premier League.

Leeds threw away their best opportunity to return to the top flight in 15 years, losing 4-2 at home to Derby County in the second leg of their play-off game, having also managed to lose an automatic promotion spot to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United at the end of the regular season.

Bielsa refused to give too much away in the aftermath of the crushing loss to Derby but he would like to return for a second crack at promotion if Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is able to reassure him that he will be able to bring new players in this summer to reinvigorate a squad that lacked the strength in depth of some of their rivals in the promotion race.

Leeds supporters are desperate for Bielsa to stay on after such a thrilling first campaign but, at the age of 63, the Argentinean will keep his options open.

Bielsa earns more than £3m a year at Elland Road, making him by far the best paid manager in the Championship, and there are concerns about the financial situation at the club.

Radrizzani denied reports he will have to put Leeds up for sale if they failed to win promotion but the long-term situation remains unclear and Bielsa will want answers to these sorts of questions before he agrees to stay on.

The former Athletic Bilbao, Marseille and Lazio manager appeared to blame himself for Leeds' failure to go up in the immediate aftermath of the Derby loss and he is worried he could be forced to sell his best players this summer to ease the financial pressure.

That is unlikely to appeal and Biesla will quit if he is told Leeds need to cut costs to survive, given he has extracted so much from a group largely made up of the same players who finished in mid-table in the Championship 12 months ago.