Noel Whelan slams Leeds director of football Victor Orta

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Noel Whelan has suggested that Leeds United’s recruitment has not been good enough, pointing the finger directly at Victor Orta.

Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds after Leeds’ 2-2 draw with Derby County on Wednesday that the Whites’ recruitment has been rubbish and criticised Victor Orta’s work since arriving at Elland Road.

Orta arrived at Leeds shortly after current owner Andrea Radrizzani seized full control of the club, and he wasted no time getting stuck into the recruitment process, bringing a significant number of players into the first-team and youth squads.

While some of those players have proved to be gems – Samuel Saiz is undoubtedly the standout – there have been a number of players who have underwhelmed for much of the campaign. And the fact that so much energy has seemingly been put into adding to the under-23 ranks has seen the director of football come in for a lot of criticism from the disgruntled supporters.

And after the draw with the Rams, Whelan suggested that the fans have every right to question the work that Orta has done during his time with the club.

“Yeah, it’s been pretty rubbish. I don’t know what he’s been doing,” he told BBC Radio Leeds when asked about the recruitment.

“I don’t know why you’re buying players to come in and fit into the [under] 23s – they’re not going to be good enough, if they were they would be going straight into the first-team now. Look, 21, 22-year-olds should be pushing [for the first-team], knocking on the door at 18, 19, so let’s not use young and 21 and 22 as an excuse. It ain’t, because there’s been players playing at Premier League and Championship level at 16, 17 and 18.”

It appears that there are a number of talented players coming through the ranks at Thorp Arch. However, some will argue that most of the youngsters in that category were at the club before Orta’s arrival, and the apparent stockpiling may actually have a negative impact on those who deserve the game-time for Carlos Corberan’s team.

And with the under-23s seemingly saturated with players and the first-team clearly not boasting the depth to capitalise on their early season form, the pressure is surely on Orta ahead of the summer to prove that he can silence his critics with the players that he brings in.