Leeds United director of football Victor Orta is now wanted by Newcastle United as they seek somebody to lead their transfers moving forward.
Newcastle chase Orta
The Sun claim that Orta is in the mix for the job alongside Brighton and Hove Albion technical director Dan Ashworth.
Ashworth is settled at Brighton so may be hard to prise away, meaning Newcastle have to look at other targets.
Orta is one of them, with PIF and Amanda Staveley seemingly impressed with his work at Leeds.
Nick Hammond is in as a temporary consultant, but he is unlikely to be the long-term answer for Newcastle.
That long-term answer could yet be Orta, though Leeds will surely put up a fight to keep the Spaniard.
How has Orta fared at Leeds?
Formerly of Middlesbrough – where he was branded an ‘oracle’ – Orta headed to Leeds in 2017. Orta’s first transfer window at Elland Road was mixed, landing Pontus Jansson, Ezgjan Alioski and Mateusz Klich but also the likes of Felix Wiedwald, Caleb Ekuban and Jay-Roy Grot.
2018-19 was a little more encouraging, securing Barry Douglas, Patrick Bamford and Kiko Casilla.
The 2019-20 campaign saw Leeds focus on loan deals. Ben White, Jack Harrison and Illan Meslier were all success, but the less said about Jean-Kevin Augustin, the better.
In the Premier League, Orta’s record has been hit and miss. Raphinha is of course a superstar, signing Meslier permanently was great and youth recruitment of Joe Gelhardt, Lewis Bate and Sam Greenwood has been exciting.
The jury is still out on Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente, Junior Firpo and Daniel James though, whilst Leeds have major squad depth concerns.
Orta’s fairly mixed record at Leeds means it’s something of a surprise that Newcastle want him, though he is highly regarded in the scouting community.
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