The 23-year-old destroyed the Hammers’ Under-23 side on Wednesday and may relish a Leeds United challenge.
By virtue of the fact that Leeds United signed seven obscure talents from Spain in the summer, you could say Victor Orta likes a bargain from his homeland.
Samu Saiz, Adrian Balboa, Hugo Diaz, Alejandro Machuca, Oriol Rey, Ousama Siddiki and Kun Temenuzhkov all joined Leeds from Spanish clubs and although Saiz is the only one to have played for the senior side, it’s clear that Orta has a thing for trying to unearth gems from the Primera Division.
Fans of the Elland Road club should be hoping that the Director of Football was in attendance to watch Villarreal B destroy West Ham United’s Under-23 side 3-0 on Wednesday night, because he would’ve seen a very talented striker.
Adrian Dalmau scored all three goals in that London blitz as the 23-year-old made it six goals in four games for Villarreal’s reserves.
Of course, Dalmau is hardly scoring against world beaters but it seems as if the red-hot striker – who had a stint at Real Madrid, like Saiz and Siddiki – is in a league of his own over there and perhaps a new challenge is needed.
On this form, it seems only a matter of time before he gets a shot with a senior squad – whether it’s Villarreal or elsewhere – but the fact he is 23 and still playing against youngsters might be something of a red flag.
In any case, his goal record is superb and he might well be a greater coup for some team than many of Orta’s Spanish recruits are for leeds. According to Transfermarkt, Dalmau, whose contract expires in the summer, is valued at around £180,000.
Young, Spanish, unknown, talented and cheap, he fits the bill of an Orta signing.
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