Victor Orta has remained coy on the chances of bringing Leeds United striker Rodrigo Moreno with him to Sevilla.
Via the Athletic, Orta was speaking in his official unveiling as Sevilla’s new sporting director, where he claimed the rumour may have originated from sending Rodrigo a text after his Nations League triumph with Spain.
The 44-year-old made his return to football on Tuesday evening as he was confirmed as Monchi’s successor at the Europa League champions, who made the switch to Aston Villa last week.
According to reports in Spain, Rodrigo is on the verge of following Orta to Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in a deal worth around £3.5 million.
Orta was, of course, the man who brought Rodrigo to Leeds back in the summer of 2020, splashing a club record fee of £27 million to sign him from Valencia.
Orta refuses to rule out Rodrigo move
With the report from Spain coming to light almost immediately after Orta was appointed, he was then asked in his press conference about the chances of Rodrigo following him.
Orta claimed while he has been in contact with Rodrigo in the last few days, he would not be commenting on any specific transfer rumours.
He said: “I am not going to talk about individual names. I sent Rodrigo Moreno a message yesterday to congratulate him for the trophy (the Nations League won with Spain). With this rumour, maybe from there, things have got a bit exaggerated.”
With Leeds having been relegated and Rodrigo now back in the Spain fold, this does feel like a move that would make a lot of sense.
Orta clearly had a good relationship with the players at Leeds and with just 12 months left to run on his deal at Elland Road, an exit this summer makes sense for all parties.
It could well be the last big contract of Rodrigo’s playing career and the chance to play Champions League football again is something he deserves after last season.
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