Former Leeds United sporting director Victor Orta was relieved of his duties shortly before the end of the 2022/23 campaign as his decisions played a part in the club’s eventual relegation.
The Whites dropped down to the Championship from the Premier League as the Spanish chief’s signings and managerial appointments failed to keep the side in the top-flight.
Orta, who is now with Sevilla in LaLiga, had his fair share of transfer failures, and successes, throughout his time at Elland Road as he splashed the cash, with mixed results.
Orta’s most-expensive Leeds signings | |
|---|---|
Player | Fee (via Transfermarkt) |
Brenden Aaronson | £28.4m |
Rodrigo | £25.9m |
Dan James | £25.1m |
Georginio Rutter | £24.2m |
Luis Sinisterra | £21.6m |
As you can see in the table above, the former Leeds director had the opportunity to spend good money on a number of players but they were not enough to prevent relegation back down to the second tier.
However, Orta also deserves praise for some of his superb pieces of business, such as hiring head coach Marcelo Bielsa and signing Brazil international Raphinha.
One move that the Spanish mastermind made that looks to have struck gold with was the signing of young forward Mateo Joseph, who is already starting to blossom in England.
How much did Leeds pay for Mateo Joseph?
The Whites reportedly spent £900k to sign the teenage dynamo from Espanyol during the January transfer window at the start of 2022.
European giants Barcelona and Manchester City were said to be keen on the talented youngster but TEAMtalk claimed that Orta’s ‘persistence’ paid off as the ex-Leeds chief was eventually able to secure a deal for him ahead of the competition.
He arrived at Elland Road off the back of 14 goals in 21 matches for Espanyol’s U19 side during the 2020/21 campaign, which included a hat-trick against Barcelona B.
His three-goal haul against the Catalan giants highlighted his quality as he found the back of the net from the penalty spot, scored an excellent solo goal, and showed good movement to be in the right place for a tap-in. This showcased his ability to score a variety of goals from a centre-forward position.
Joseph’s impressive goalscoring record for the Spanish side suggested that there was a promising finisher to be unearthed and Orta was able to snap him up ahead of, arguably, bigger clubs in order to bolster the club’s U21 side.
How much was Joseph worth in 2022?
In 2022, FootballTransfers placed the teenage striker’s Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at just €300k (£260k) as the forward had not proven himself in England or at U21 level.
He had only excelled for Espanyol’s U19 side and this suggests that Orta spent £900k on the attacker in the hope that Joseph would be able to translate his form to older age groups, and beyond, as well as being able to adapt to life in another country.
The former Leeds sporting director may have been left questioning his own decision as the Spanish-born forward struggled throughout the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.
Joseph arrived in Yorkshire during the January transfer window and only scored two goals in 11 appearances in all competitions for the academy.
He found the back of the net once in seven U21 games and also produced one goal and one assist in four outings for the U18 team in his first five months at the club.
The England U20 international was unable to hit the ground running as his excellent goalscoring form for Espanyol was not replicated during the first half of 2022.
How many goals did Joseph score last season?
Orta’s potential fears, however, would have been alleviated by the English ace’s exceptional form for the academy throughout the 2022/23 campaign as he plundered 17 goals in all competitions.
The 19-year-old gem, who can operate as a centre-forward or out wide on the left flank, caught the eye with an impressive return of 16 goals and two assists in 21 Premier League 2 outings for the U21s.
Joseph showcased his ability to find the back of the net on a regular basis as a number nine for Leeds, with a strike every 1.31 matches on average, and also displayed his creative quality in the EFL Trophy against lower league opposition.
The former Espanyol prodigy averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.97 across three games against Bolton, Tranmere, and Crewe as he created two ‘big chances’ and produced 1.7 key passes per game, to go along with one goal.
His form at youth level caught the eye of the first-team last term as Joseph went on to play six senior matches throughout the 2022/23 campaign, although the teenage finisher was unable to net his first goal for the club.
How much is Mateo Joseph worth now?
At the time of writing (08/10/2023), FootballTransfers has the exciting marksman’s xTV at up to €1.9m (£1.6m) and this means that his value has soared by a whopping 515% from the initial €300k that he was valued at in 2022.
Joseph’s fantastic performances for the U21 side, along with his senior debut, last season have led to his xTV rocketing up over the last 12 months and the next step for him is to emerge as a regular option for the first-team.
Manager Daniel Farke recently hailed Joseph as being “really sharp” and claimed that the striker will play an “important” role in the club’s future, which suggests that the German head coach has been impressed by what he has seen from the youngster in training.
It is now down to the England U20 international to prove to the ex-Norwich boss that he deserves to play regular football at Championship level alongside the likes of Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe.
The current front two have scored seven league goals between them this season and Joseph, therefore, has a tough task to break into the side this term.
However, the English dynamo has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and progress over the years to come, at the age of 19, and could be a future star for Farke, rather than someone who will make a big impact over the next few months.
As it stands, Joseph looks set to be an excellent signing by Orta if he can carry on his form and progress into the first-team whilst watching his value soar at the same time.
