Former Leeds Player, Once Valued at £4.5 Million, Now Thriving in the Vacuum Sales Industry
The World Cup winner struggled in England after a big-money move to Elland Road. Leeds United were demoted from the Premier League earlier this year after three years in the top division under Sam Allardyce.
The veteran English coach joined in an attempt to save the day, but he was unable to prevent the team from being relegated after Javi Gracia and Jesse Marsch had left the club in a terrible position.
While the managers can accept responsibility for their failings, former sporting director Victor Orta should bear some of the blame for his efforts to create the underperforming playing roster.
As shown in the figure above, the Spaniard was able to splash the cash on multiple times in an attempt to bolster the team for Bielsa and Marsch, but those big-money signings rarely resulted in Premier League victory.
Rutter and Aaronson, Orta’s two most costly signings at Elland Road, combined for one goal and four assists in 47 top-flight appearances during the 2022/23 season.
However, the now-Sevilla manager is not the only Leeds figure to have made mistakes in that regard over the years, with the purchase of attacker Tomas Brolin being one such example.
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Leeds made a significant investment in Brolin back in November 1995, agreeing to a club-record deal to secure the Sweden international from Parma for a reported fee of £4.5 million. The club initially paid £600,000 upfront for the talented forward, with the remaining £3.9 million set to be paid over the subsequent two-and-a-half years.
Reports suggested that the deal hit a snag as Brolin couldn’t initially agree on personal terms with Leeds, but eventually, the move was finalized. Then-managing director Bill Fotherby expressed confidence in the deal, even amidst these uncertainties.
This move was a bold but risky move for Leeds, breaking their club record to sign a player who had played only three matches for his club that season and was recovering from a previous year’s foot injury.
Brolin later disclosed that he had no intention of leaving Parma; his belief was that the Italian side sought to capitalize on his transfer before his contract expired due to the impending Bosman ruling, ensuring they didn’t lose him for free.
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