If recent reports are to be believed, Leeds United have been keeping close tabs on Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and have identified him as a potential replacement for Marcelo Bielsa.

Football Insider claim that Leeds have started planning for life after their world-renowned head coach amid fears that he could decide to leave Elland Road at the end of the season, should the club fail to win promotion.

The report also states that Leeds have been keeping an eye of Gerrard for some time and will continue to monitor his progress at Rangers over the course of the season, in case Bielsa decides to depart the club come the end of the campaign.

Here are three reasons why Leeds could lure Gerrard away from Rangers...

The club has a good academy

Leeds have got a great academy and have produced some very talented players over the past few seasons. The club have got some exciting youngsters on their books at the moment and this is surely something that would appeal to Gerrard.

Gerrard has shown that he's prepared to give young players a chance at Rangers and he'd surly be willing to do the same at Leeds.

As a former academy coach at Liverpool, Gerrard has plenty of experience in managing young players and will know how to get the best out of them. That would surely come in handy if he were to take charge at Elland Road.

A route to managing in the Premier League

After missing out in the play-offs last season, Leeds are in a great position to challenge for promotion again this term.

However, if the club do fail to go up this season, Gerrard would be taking over a very talented group of players and would be in a great position to challenge for promotion in his first season in charge at Elland Road.

As a former Liverpool player in the Premier League, you would imagine that it's Gerrard's ambition to manage in the top flight one day, and taking charge of Leeds would give him a great opportunity to get there.

Gerrard would surely be tempted by this opportunity and he may even come to view it as a potential stepping-stone to getting the Liverpool job in the future.

A new challenge 

Leeds are one of the biggest clubs in the country, never mind the Championship, so there's every chance that Gerrard would be tempted by the chance to manage at Elland Road.

Rangers are also one of the biggest clubs in Britain and also have a great history and a huge fanbase, but after a couple of seasons at Ibrox, Gerrard may feel that it's time for him to pursue a new challenge.

He'll already be used to dealing with the pressure that comes with managing a big club but he could relish the opportunity to manage in the Championship, and adapting to the challenges that would come with this is something that he could thrive on.

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