The Leeds United director of football Victor Orta was made a very lucrative offer by Roma, who went to a lot of effort to try and coax him from Elland Road, according to The Yorkshire Evening Post.
But the newspaper claims that Orta has turned down the Italians to stay at Leeds.
It adds that it is not the first time the Spaniard has done so, with RB Leipzig reported to have identified him as an ideal candidate for their technical director vacancy in June.
Orta overcame a questionable start to his Leeds career to become one of the key factors behind the club’s ascent to the Premier League.
The former Sevilla employee – who worked alongside the Andalusians’ ex-Roma sporting director, Monchi – has also helped to construct an exciting youth team at Elland Road.
“Victor has been a massive part of our success both in the championship and in the squad he’s building for the Premier League,” the Leeds managing director Angus Kinnear told The Yorkshire Evening Post.
“There is interest from other clubs, it doesn’t surprise us but we’re not letting him go anywhere and if they saw his behaviour in the directors’ box they wouldn’t want him either.”
Interestingly, Leipzig have spent much of the summer onwards in dispute with Leeds over the striker Jean-Kevin Augustin.
The German side insist that the Whites reneged on an obligation to buy Augustin, at a reported cost of £19 million, after their promotion to the Premier League.
The Frenchman has since joined Nantes on a free transfer.
But the Leipzig commercial director of sports, Florian Scholz, told Bulinews: “Our legal position has not changed. Leeds United’s promotion means Jean Kevin Augustin is no longer a player belonging to RB Leipzig. We will take legal action against Leeds and involve FIFA.”
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