Leeds United are set to part company with Victor Orta after talks over his future on Monday.
That is according to Phil Hay, writing for The Athletic, who suggests that Andrea Radrizzani is ready to relieve Victor Orta of his duties after a miserable time at Elland Road of late.
It felt inevitable that Orta had to leave Leeds. Of course, there have been some brilliant times while the Spaniard has been at the club. But more recently, his failings have really come under the microscope.
What has gone on this season has been a failure at all levels. Jesse Marsch has paid the price. And Javi Gracia looks set to follow him out the exit door. And the players were left in no uncertain terms about what the fans thought of them after Sunday’s performance at Bournemouth.
Victor Orta set for Leeds exit
But there has also been a lot of anger directed at Orta. Therefore, Radrizzani had little choice but to take the action he has.
Orta’s contribution at Leeds will actually not be remembered too fondly, you would imagine.
Of course, it was his call to target Marcelo Bielsa. And Leeds achieved promotion with the current hierarchy in place. However, for many fans, Bielsa’s genius made up for Orta’s shortcomings.
There have been numerous signings which have not worked out. It is easy to forget just how bad a first season it was, when Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom guided Leeds to a mid-table finish in the Championship.
Bielsa’s tenure changed everything. And fans started to change their mind on Orta after the Amazon documentary detailing the club’s push to get out of the second tier. This was clearly someone who cared deeply about the club being a success.
But once the wheels started to come off for Bielsa, Orta came under scrutiny again.
Marsch was not a smart replacement for Bielsa. Replacing Marsch immediately after the January transfer window when no replacement was lined up was baffling. And the signings made in the winter window have left the fans irate.
A centre-back was signed when the squad was crying out for a left-back. Weston McKennie was brought in when Leeds needed another mobile midfielder. And the striker signing made was that of young winger Georginio Rutter.
Yes, you will find times where we have praised Orta. And he does deserve some credit. But this is a change that had to be made at this stage.
Leeds needs a massive reset this summer. And Victor Orta couldn’t have been the man to oversee it.