Victor Orta reveals thinking behind biggest Leeds United transfer as director of football

Leeds United parted company with Marcelo Bielsa over six months ago, ushering in a new era under the stewardship of American coach Jesse Marsch.

Director of football Victor Orta admitted upon Marsch’s arrival that the pair had been in contact for up to two years prior to Bielsa’s expedited departure and it was perceived that a similar style of play made the 48-year-old a prime candidate to replace the revered Argentine.

After surviving the threat of relegation last season, Leeds have begun to build a side in Marsch’s image, featuring players who can execute his preferred style of play.

At the forefront of Leeds’ recruitment is Orta – an experienced scout with previous stints at Sevilla and Zenit St Petersburg.

Speaking to Viaplay Fotball ahead of Leeds’ 1-1 draw against Everton on Tuesday evening, Orta explained the thinking behind the club’s most consequential transfer of recent seasons: replacing Bielsa with Marsch in order to preserve Premier League status.

"It's true that when you have Bielsa you always have to work for the transition, because with Bielsa you never know,” Orta began, suggesting a succession plan had long been in place due to the veteran coach’s unpredictability.

“When we start to work in the transition, we use the first filter for data, high-pressure, it was really similar and then in this moment I think, 'wow we need a smooth transition in the context of the effort,’” he added, implying Marsch’ preferred high-pressing approach made him a good fit for the squad already at Leeds.

“These fans is not easy, you need to take the effort and the talent together, it's not easy because I can choose the effort, I can choose the talent but together the recruitment is a challenge.

“But then the same with the coach, after a strong name like Bielsa, that I remember when he arrived nobody knows him and I was 'wow, hope so this works' and then now I need the same in another way because I analyse a lot the transition of Bielsa after Athletic Club, I analyse the transition of Bielsa after Chile, I analyse the transition of Bielsa after Lille and I think, 'what [do] we need about that?' and this is for me really, really important,” Orta finished.

The Spaniard was explaining his thought process behind appointing Marsch, and the importance of ensuring a smooth transition could be achieved at a crucial point in what had been a trying season.

Orta’s comments on player acquisition also imply that Leeds require hard-working players – ‘the effort’ – as well as talented individuals, which narrows the pool of players available to them in the transfer window.