Diego Llorente’s Roma dream is not going to plan after Leeds United exit

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The news that Roma had drawn Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League last-16 may have brought about an emotional reaction from one member of Jose Mourinho’s Giallorossi roster. 

Diego Llorente, after all, made his name at San Sebastian. He became a Spain international in blue-and-white stripes; earning himself that £18 million move to Leeds United on the back of those fine performances at the heart of the Sociedad backline. 

So, not that he really needed it, Llorente now has even more motivation as he looks to catch Mourinho’s eye between now and the return leg in Basque country on March 16^th.  

Since joining Roma on a short-term in January, the Leeds loanee has played just one minute of football; coming off the bench to shore up the backline in classic Mourinho fashion versus Empoli.

Llorente was restricted to a watching brief against both Lecce and Hellas Verona in Serie A, and didn’t feature in either of the Europa League last-32 legs against Red Bull Salzburg. The 29-year-old has been eligible to play in no fewer than six Roma games since arriving, and has appeared in just one of them. A single minute of action out of a possible 540. 

Is Diego Llorente going to end up back at Leeds United?

Chris Smalling’s suspension for Tuesday’s trip to Cremonese opens up a window of opportunity for Llorente. But, according to Roma Press, Marash Kumbulla should get the nod instead. It is far too early to suggest that a dream move is threatening to become a nightmare. But this is not what Llorente had in mind when swapping West Yorkshire for the Italian capital.

“My agent told me about Roma’s interest,” Llorente told the club’s in-house media team recently. “Initially, I didn’t think about moving.

“The first thing is that it’s beautiful, a spectacular city. The best place to continue playing football. Both on a sporting level and on a personal level, I think it’s an important step forward for my career.” 

Roma, per the Daily Mail, have the option to sign Llorente permanently in the summer.

The direction of travel already appears to be going against him, however. And Kumbulla’s potential inclusion at his expense away to Cremonese would perhaps the biggest indication yet that Llorente should start preparing himself for life back on the Elland Road bench.