Ranking Victor Orta’s £328m transfer business as Leeds chief sacked

Leeds are officially starting afresh with Victor Orta reportedly being sacked as the club’s director of football with Javi Gracia also set to depart. Leeds were always going to face a difficult season after losing both Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips last summer.

Unable to compete with the elite clubs over Europe, Leeds turned their focus to signing young and promising stars from around the globe. Orta first joined Leeds back in 2017 from Middlesbrough with the club aiming to get back into the Premier League.

He ended up playing an integral part in convincing Marcelo Bielsa to take up the managerial position at Leeds back in 2018. The duo ended up striking up a good partnership off the field with signings of Mateusz Klich, Ezgjan Alioski and Pontus Jansson proving critical for their early success.

Hadi Sacko and Jay-Roy Grot were just a few players from Orta’s first summer in charge who failed to live up to expectations, but both arrived for relatively cheap fees. The following two summers were largely about Leeds utilising the loan market with players such as Ben White, Helder Costa, Illan Meslier and Jack Harrison ultimately helping them earn promotion in 2020.

Their return to the Premier League brought new riches to Elland Road with Orta given a fresh licence to splash big money in the transfer market. And Orta certainly did his reputation no harm in striking impressive deals for both Raphinha and Rodrigo.

Raphinha arguably went on to become Orta’s best piece of business in the transfer market as he was eventually sold in a deal worth £55million. Diego Llorente has struggled to live up to expectations though and he’s spent this season out on loan while Leeds still have egg on their face from the Jean-Kevin Augustin fiasco – think just needs added info here on how much he cost them/ played for them.

That transfer activity helped Leeds claim a ninth-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League. But they failed to build on that success the following year with Daniel James and Junior Firpo failing to make a difference at Leeds.

Harrison was finally signed on a permanent basis from City and he’s continued as one of the club’s main attacking threats. However, last summer’s transfer activity was always going to be make-or-break for Orta and Leeds’ status in the Premier League.

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Under American Jesse Marsch, Leeds were taking a clear stance in targeting young stars of the future with Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra, Tyler Adams, Rasmus Kristensen and Wilfried Gnonto all seen as bright signings. Aaronson and Sinisterra didn’t come cheap, but both have impressed in an otherwise difficult season for Leeds.

The club were crying out for a central striker in January and they broke their club-record fee to sign Georginio Rutter for £35.5m. But that deal has proven to be a disaster so far with Rutter starting just once in the Premier League and still waiting on his first goal in English football.

The move for Rutter looks to have been the final nail in the coffin for Orta with Leeds potentially paying the ultimate price for the January transfer mistake. Leeds fans had turned on Orta in recent months and he could hardly argue against the criticism based on his latest transfer activity.

But Orta’s time as Leeds’ director of football certainly yielded more highs than lows with Raphinha, Rodrigo, Meslier, Gnonto and Aaronson all seen as mega deals for the club. Whoever replaces Orta will have a difficult job on their hands though, particularly if Leeds end up going down.

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