Leeds United made the decision to sack Paul Heckingbottom on Friday which ended weeks of speculation surrounding the former Barnsley boss.

And, journalist Alan Nixon has suggested the Whites were deliberately delaying their decision to remove the 40-year old in order to save money on what they would owe the manager.

He stated that if Heckingbottom was sacked from June 1, his compensation would be a lot lower than if he was sacked before that.

There were doubts about whether Heckingbottom would stay on at Elland Road given his poor record since taking over.

He left the Tykes for their Yorkshire rivals in February but managed to win just four of his 16 games in charge which saw the Whites finish in the bottom half of the table.

That prompted serious doubts with owner Andrea Radrizzani about whether Heckingbottom was the right man to take Leeds to the Premier League.

The Championship side are now on the lookout for a new manager and have been heavily linked with a move for renowned Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa in the past few days.

The Verdict

You'd have to say this is a smart move from Radrizzani and could explain why nothing happened for a few weeks.

With pre-season still weeks away it makes sense to delay sacking Heckingbottom if it can save you what is sure to be a lot of money.

Now though, they need to act quickly to give the new boss as much time as possible to seek transfer targets ahead of what will be a busy summer.

Thoughts, Leeds fans? Let us know in the comments below.