It may come as a surprise to many that Diego Llorente spent four years on the books at Leeds United, though he spent 18 months of that out on loan at Italian giants Roma.
Signed in 2020 for a fee of £18m from Real Sociedad, the feeling was that Leeds had pulled off a bit of a coup to land a current Spain defender. But injury ruined Llorente’s first season during his time at Leeds.
Llorente managed just 59 appearances for Leeds before eventually going on loan in January 2023, despite signing a new contract at Elland Road a month prior. He extended that loan by a year six months later.
The Spaniard went on to play 54 times with Roma over an 18-month period, but the Italians chose not to sign him and instead, he joined Marc Roca at Real Betis. The defender signed for Betis for just £2.7m.
Diego Llorente shares his opinion of Victor Orta at Leeds
Llorente has since impressed for Betis alongside Roca, under old Man City and West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini. He has started 17 of Betis’ 19 games in league and cup this term, winning six clean sheets.
Speaking to Diario De Sevilla this week, the defender spoke about Orta and what he was like during his time at Leeds. Orta of course, is not particularly liked at Leeds despite plenty of positive moments.
“I’ve very good memories of him, because in the end in football, there are people and friendships. Víctor treated me very well when at Leeds, he gave me all his support. For that I’ll always be grateful to him.”
Did Victor Orta do a good job at Leeds United?
Just this week, Orta said he chose not to spend £11.7m on Viktor Gyokeres in January 2023. A striker that is now being touted for a fee of £63m, having scored 66 goals in 68 games for Sporting Lisbon.
Orta was the mastermind behind the decision to appoint Marcelo Bielsa, but equally he sacked him for Jesse Marsch, undoing any praise he deserved for the decision to get the Argentine legend to Yorkshire.
The summer of 2022, and transfers throughout that season, are woeful and culminated in Leeds ending up in the Championship. Orta’s decision to include relegation loan clauses is another blot on his time.
But, one big positive was Orta’s ability to sign young players with huge resale value. Raphinha, Mateo Joseph, Crysencio Summerville, Pascal Struijk, Wilfried Gnonto, Illan Meslier – all signings made by Orta.
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