Leeds United’s Victor Orta was heavily criticised last season.
Leeds United are enjoying quite the revival under Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentinian was seen as a marquee appointment when Leeds managed to land him as Paul Heckingbottom’s replacement over the summer, and he has turned the Whites into legitimate promotion contenders.
In truth, many at Elland Road are enjoying rebirths. Kemar Roofe has been in a run of form rarely seen since his Oxford United days, whilst Mateusz Klich is now a key player having been completely cast aside by Thomas Christiansen.
And yet, the man who is enjoying the greatest turnaround of all is one who isn’t necessarily influenced by Bielsa; director of football Victor Orta.
The former Middlesbrough man was heavily criticised last season, and for good reason. Orta oversaw deals to bring in the likes of Felix Wiedwald, Caleb Ekuban, Jay-Roy Grot, Pawel Cibicki and Laurens de Bock, with very few successes for the Spaniard.
Fans would regularly call for Orta’s head last season, but there has been a definite change in attitude from Whites fans as Orta begins to redeem himself.
Firstly, Orta was the man who suggested targeting Bielsa, which has gone some way to appeasing Leeds fans, and focusing on signing players with Championship experience, such as Jamal Blackman, Barry Douglas, Lewis Baker, Jack Harrison, Izzy Brown and Patrick Bamford, is exactly what fans wanted – even if some of them are yet to feature prominently.
Leeds fans have also hailed Orta for his passionate celebration after Pontus Jansson’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Brentford on Saturday afternoon, as he grabbed owner Andrea Radrizzani whilst celebrating wildly.
It will take more than one transfer window and an exuberant celebration to completely convince some fans, but the majority are rightfully praising Orta, whose summer has given Leeds more than the entirety of his first season.
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