Victor Orta drops summer transfer hint amid passionate defence of 'risky' Leeds United growth strategy - YEP 26/3/22
Leeds United director of football Victor Orta says the club will stick to Marcelo Bielsa's slim squad approach despite the manager's departure.
By Flora Snelson
Bielsa's preference to work with a smaller group of players
hurt Leeds this season as a string of injuries forced the Argentine to select
from a threadbare squad for weeks on end.
With Leeds' Premier League status in peril, the club sacked
Marcelo Bielsa in February but intend to persist with the departed manager's
commitment to a smaller squad.
This week Orta revealed that the Whites plan to buy 'one or
two' established players in the summer transfer window, with youth players
making up the numbers as developing the club's youth pathway is the only way to
compete with Premier League opponents with significantly greater funds.
The director of football cited recent game-changing
contributions made by the club's youth prospects as evidence of the policy's
success, though he acknowledged that the strategy was not without risk.
"I believe in a project that is one of Marcelo Bielsa’s
legacies," Orta told TGG’s Scouting and Recruitment Webinar. "If you
believe in youth development you need to prove it. Our idea is 18 professionals
and the other four players all with the under-23s because we believe in youth
development and want to give responsibility to the academy.”
“It’s true that it’s risky. It’s true that if you have these
four players with more experience, perhaps the results in the short-term will
be better.
"The other day we win a difficult game against Wolves
with Charlie Cresswell, Sam Greenwood and Kirstoffer Klaesson on the pitch and
on another day Joe Gelhardt scores to make it 2-1 against Norwich and Lewis
Bate is in the team that beats West Ham.
“And obviously another time, score with Joe Gelhardt. Or
when we win at West Ham with Leo Hjelde. For the medium to long term of the
club, to build the players is really important."
Orta recognises that Leeds' spending power is limited
relative to other Premier League clubs and insists that wise recruitment is the
best way to address the inequality.
“Leeds United is not a team that can be in the market for
£150m each summer," Orta said. "To reduce the gap we need to build
careers. We can buy one or two careers per summer, but the rest, we need to
build careers.
“The only way to build careers is to make our people
anticipate talent – to create players at 14 or 15 who can be future Premier
League players and create a pathway there.
“The short-term impact of the squad is relevant and we are
struggling this season with relegation. Last year with the same methodology we
finished 9th and I know more times it will be difficult.
“But I believe in my scouting department. What is better for
me? Spending £1m on Joe Gelhardt or £500m for a 31-year-old striker? I believe
in the first.
“It’s the only way Leeds can grow. The only other way is ‘I
am going to buy [players with established] careers’. But you always lose that
way because there are other clubs with more money, more investment. I need to
build careers here.”