Leeds United’s new scout Gaby Ruiz has been busy at the European Championships.
Elland Road
Leeds United appointed scout Gaby Ruiz to a key role at the club this week, with the Spaniard taking up the post of Head of European Recruitment.
Ruiz updated his Twitter biography to confirm the position, which sees him working under technical director Victor Orta for a second time, having done so at Middlesbrough previously.
Ruiz has been busy already, scouting at the under-21 European Championships in Poland, beginning to do so when the tournament kicked off last week.
Who has he been watching?
Ruiz has uploaded teamsheets from four matches at the tournament, displaying some intriguing names.
The matches he has seen are Sweden v England, Portugal v Serbia, Denmark v Italy, and Slovakia v England.
Many of the names in the England under-21 side are beyond Leeds’ reach, like Tammy Abraham, Calum Chambers, Alfie Mawson and Mason Holgate, who are all expected to play regular Premier League football next season.
One promising player Ruiz saw in action was Liverpool maestro Marko Grujic for Serbia.
Liverpool’s Marko Grujic scores
The Reds have high hopes for the dynamic midfielder, but competition at Anfield is high and a loan move could be to his benefit.
Also in action under Ruiz’ gaze was Swedish defender Linus Wahlqvist, who has been linked to Leeds previously by The Express.
While he kept a clean sheet in the match with England, he also missed a penalty which won’t have helped his cause.
Linus Wahlqvist
What Aitor Karanka said about Ruiz
Former Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka rated Ruiz highly, praised his wide ranging contacts.
He told the Gazette last year: “He knows a lot of players, not just in Europe but in the world, so it’s an important appointment.
“But the head of recruitment is Victor and he’s come in to work with him. Victor has brought him here because he knows him and he trusts him and they have been working together for a few years.”
The set up certainly sounds promising for Leeds, and they have been given a fresh chance after it didn’t work out at Middlesbrough.
Assessing players from the under-21 championships is at this point purely due diligence, but it may well develop into potential signings.
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