Former Leeds United Sporting Director Victor Orta has used the example of Viktor Gyokeres to defend his track record after he was criticised during his time at Sevilla.
Victor Orta was a divisive figure at Leeds United, having enjoyed some initial success in the transfer market and helped bring Marcelo Bielsa to the club.
However, Orta’s popularity nose-dived at the end of his reign at Elland Road, as a string of transfers failed to bring results and Bielsa was replaced by Jesse Marsch.
Leeds are still dealing with the tail-end of Orta’s time at the club, after sending Max Wober out on another loan and struggling to offload out-of-favour goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Now, Orta has attempted to defend his record in the transfer market, invoking the example of Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres and Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz to do so.
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Former Leeds United Sporting Director defends his track record
Orta moved to Sevilla after he left his role with Leeds, but quickly became an unpopular figure, according to One Football, and left after two turbulent seasons with the La Liga giants.
Speaking to the El Larguero podcast by SER, Orta attempted to defend his track record at the club, blaming financial woes off the field for Sevilla’s struggles, and citing the example of Gyokeres’ struggles with Arsenal to justify how hard it is to find the right players in the transfer market.
Orta said: “The decision wasn’t my own. I was unlucky, and I didn’t have a good time financially at Sevilla. But it’s very difficult to sign players with money, too.
“For example, Gyokeres is under scrutiny at Arsenal and Wirtz at Liverpool, and both have cost more than 100 million euros.
“Gyokeres scored goals everywhere in Portugal. Wirtz looked like a magician in Germany, and now at Liverpool, they’re already giving him a terrible beating.”
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Which club does Victor Orta work for now?
After ending his time with Leeds and, subsequently, Sevilla, Orta moved straight into a new role in the Spanish Second Division.
Orta is now the Sporting Director of Real Valladolid, who play in the Segunda Division, alongside Pablo Hernandez’s Castellon side.
The former Leeds Sporting Director took a subtle swipe at his former club earlier this season, claiming he has never been happier than he is in his current role.
Orta has enjoyed more success in his current role, helping Valladolid climb up to fourth in the Segunda Division table, just three points behind leaders Cadiz after nine games.
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