Victor Orta reveals where Leeds United should be in two years amid Cody Gakpo transfer sympathy - YEP 22/9/22
Leeds United director of football believes European football is still some way off making a return to Elland Road
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds’ charismatic director of football Victor Orta believes
a top ten finish in the Premier League would represent a considerable
achievement for United this season.
The Whites escaped relegation in dramatic fashion last term
and despite finishing ninth during the team’s first campaign back in the top
flight, Orta asserts that in the long-term, challenging the Premier League’s
mid-table hegemony will symbolise the club moving in the right direction.
Leeds have been in a state of flux for much of 2022, with
the departure of Marcelo Bielsa, Jesse Marsch’s arrival, squad upheaval during
the summer and now an unplanned 29-day break between matches.
Hardly renowned for keeping a level-head, it is Orta who
remains firmly grounded about what the team can achieve.
🚨🆕 Spent the afternoon speaking to Joe Gelhardt & Sam Greenwood today. Both keen for new documentary 'Academy Dreams' to tell their stories away from the pitch & where they come from. Easy to forget they're both just 20 y/o. Interview part one here.https://t.co/DR51n0DB1m
— Joe Donnohue (@JoeDonnohue) September 22, 2022
"I think Leeds have to consolidate the project, to be
between 14th and 10th, to take steps to reach the top 10 on a regular basis in
two years’ time,” he says, speaking to The Telegraph.
“With the current business model in the Premier League, the
top six is almost unattainable. Leicester and West Ham have broken through in
recent years, but it's not easy. To be in the top 10 would already be a great
success,” he added.
Leeds have made progress towards achieving Orta’s goal,
replacing two players – Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha – with several new faces
for the first-team, building depth where there was little before.
The club were unable to snare sought-after Dutch forward
Cody Gakpo on deadline day, though, despite Orta’s trip to Dutch city Eindhoven
where he made a ploy to persuade the player to join Leeds.
Admittedly disappointed, the Spaniard says he understands
Gakpo and Eredivisie club PSV’s outlook from the other side of the negotiating
table, nonetheless.
“We also tried with Cody Gakpo. I respect his decision not
to come to Leeds. And I also put myself in the shoes of PSV and I understand
they couldn’t find a replacement at the last minute.”
Losing an influential player such as Gakpo so late in the
transfer window would have detrimentally impacted PSV’s ability to challenge
for the Dutch title – a pre-requisite for any season in the Netherlands.
