Victor Orta holds the cards when it comes to the summer transfer business at Leeds United. He is the man charged with targeting and brining players through the door at the club. He did make it quite clear today that Thomas Christiansen would make the final decision on players.
There have been numerous players linked to the club already this summer including Jonny Howson, David Stockdale and most recently Matt Derbyshire. Despite Thomas Christiansen only getting the job late last week it seems like Orta has been at work, Christiansen saying that they aren’t behind in terms of a shortlist of players. Orta had a mixed bag at Middlesbrough in his last job. He was in control of brining in players from abroad and did it very well at times, although some moves didn’t work out. There is one major difference between that job and this job, money. Leeds simply have nowhere near the same cash flow as the North East club and Orta will need to be clever in the market.
We have already spent £1.3 million on French winger Hadi Sacko which seems good value to some and not so much to others depending your opinion on the player. We are very short in some areas of the squad and it is key to our promotion aspirations that they are strengthened well. The obvious positions are at centre back and centre forward. Chris Wood can’t do it all on his own again and as much as Liam Cooper puts the effort in we won’t improve with him in the side alongside Pontus Jansson, who has now set the standard for the central defenders. A left-back and wingers are also key if we are to have a good season.
With players returning to pre-season in the very near future it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one or two more signings arriving around that period. It’s important that we get the right players and spend some money because it is needed. We can’t do the same as last season and loan in five or six players to make up the numbers. One or two loans are fine but filling the squad up because we don’t want to spend money isn’t good for stability or for the squad building. We need a blend of players from abroad and at home, not just abroad. Orta has pressure on his shoulders and needs to give Christiansen the tools to succeed at Elland Road.
