Poor recruitment is a major reason as to why Victor Orta has been dismissed from his role as sporting director at Leeds United.
Orta spent six years at Elland Road but in recent years has seen his reputation among supporters suffer dramatically due to a series of poor decisions. With incoming transfers a key part of his job at Leeds, he oversaw a total of 97 different incoming transfers and loan deals.
Despite the occasional hit, many of those have ultimately not worked out, particularly since promotion to the Premier League. So, with that in mind, here is a look at five of Orta's best and worst signings in his time at Leeds.
Victor Orta's best Leeds signings
Raphinha
Orta oversaw the arrival of Raphinha from Rennes on deadline day in 2020 for a fee in the region of £17 million. It is difficult to argue against the Brazilian being the best signing of the Orta era, as he regularly lit up in Elland Road during his two seasons at the club.
Ended his time at Leeds with 17 goals and 12 assists in 67 appearances before making the switch to Barcelona last summer. Leeds would've gone down without him last season.
Ben White
Signed on a season-long-loan from Brighton to replace Pontus Jansson at centre back. Having never played above League One before signing for Leeds, it is fair to say the jury was out on him before his arrival.
White went onto play all 46 of Leeds' promotion season in 2019/20 and is arguably the best central defender to play for the Whites since 2004. The fact he is now a regular at title-chasing Arsenal is of little surprise to anyone who watched him at Leeds.
Mateusz Klich
The first signing of the Orta era and most definitely up there with the best of them. Established himself as a club legend until his departure earlier this year for both his performances on the pitch, and relationship with fans.
Klich was a key part of the promotion winning campaign, playing in 45 of the club's 46 matches that season. Went onto make 195 appearances in total, scoring 24 goals.
Jack Harrison
A player who has always split opinion at Leeds, but one thing that cannot be argued against is the consistency of his output. Harrison is into his fifth season at Elland Road and in particular since promotion, his goals and assists contribution has been pivotal.
He is hit the 200 appearance mark at Leeds in the defeat at Fulham 10 days ago and has netted 33 goals, and provided 32 assists. Has certainly proved to be great value for money.
Wilfried Gnonto
Orta has wasted countless amounts of cash bringing in young players for big money during his time at the club, but the £4m acquisition of Wilfried Gnonto from FC Zurich last summer shows he does have an eye for talent. Gnonto has surpassed all expectations since his arrival at Elland Road, quickly establishing himself as a key player.
It is a mystery to most as to why Javi Gracia has has used him so sporadically, and it is one of many reasons as to why he has struggled to win fans over. Leeds will be hoping they can keep Gnonto for several more years.
Victor Orta's worst Leeds signings
Jean-Kevin Augustin
There really is no where else to start other than Jean-Kevin Augustin, who may well end up being the worst value for money transfer in history. Augustin joined on loan from RB Leipzig in January 2020, playing just 48 minutes of action, before returning to his parent club before the end of the Covid-interrupted season.
Upon the agreement of his transfer, Leeds had an obligation to buy Augustin if they were promoted, which ultimately never materialised and led to years of legal battles. Leeds ended up losing those, having to pay Leipzig the £20m previously agreed permanent fee, and may also have to pay Augustin a reported £25m due to loss of earnings.
Daniel James
£25 million and sent out on loan just 12 months later, Daniel James is another expensive Orta mistake. James was a player who had long been on Orta's shortlist and finally got his man at the second attempt in the disastrous summer of 2021.
For that amount of money, you would be forgiven for expecting a player with a high level of quality but ultimately beyond pace and work rate, James offered very little.
Junior Firpo
As mentioned previously, the summer after Leeds' ninth place finish was unforgivable and alongside James, Junior Firpo was the only other player to join the club. Again, though, it has been a signing that has just not worked out for a variety of reasons.
Admittedly, Firpo has improved of late but the ex-Barcelona man has failed to address Leeds' problem left back position. His time at Elland Road has been riddled with injuries and you could probably count on one hand his number of good performances.
Brenden Aaronson
Perhaps a little harsh, and age is certainly on his side in terms of scope for improvement, but Brenden Aaronson has been another expensive mistake. Aaronson was chased by Orta for a number of months last year and finally got his man for £25m, a fee which has turned out to be another considerably overpayment.
Though Aaronson started well, it quickly became apparent he does not possess the physical nor technical attributes to succeed in the Premier League at this stage of his career.
Weston McKennie
Seen as a marquee arrival after joining on loan from Juventus in January, Weston McKennie has struggled to make any sort of impact at Elland Road. To make matters worse, should the Whites remain in the Premier League, they have a £35m obligation to buy him permanently.
Off the field noise has given McKennie an uphill battle to succeed at Leeds, but equally he has done little on the pitch to fulfil expectations.
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