“Patient” – Leeds United’s Mateo Joseph shares against-the-grain Victor Orta verdict

Leeds United forward Mateo Joseph was brought to the club by Victor Orta back in January 2022, and is flourishing thanks to his development at Elland Road.

Leeds are looking for promotion this season, and their attack is hopefully going to prove the difference in firing them back to the top flight.

Mateo Joseph is looking to force his way into the reckoning permanently as Leeds’ starting number nine, with one goal and three assists this season so far.

The man who brought Joseph to West Yorkshire, Victor Orta, is finding it hard to catch a break at the moment at his cherished Sevilla.

Having left Leeds weeks prior to relegation, he headed back to La Liga with Sevilla, but is yet to reinstate their standing as one of the best sides in Spain, currently 12th in the table off the back of finishing 14th in Orta’s first season as sporting director.

It has led to criticism for Orta from vocal sections of the Sevilla fanbase, with calls for Orta to resign coming from the stands.

Joseph, meanwhile, probably gives a lot of thanks for his emergence at Leeds to Orta – being responsible for his move from Espanyol to LS11.

Speaking whilst on Spain u21 duty this week, Joseph has jumped to the defence of Orta in the wake of strong criticism.

One thing that Orta definitely got right at Leeds was the scouting of young talent from across Europe, even if the hit rate wasn’t great.

With Joseph, Pascal Struijk, Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto, Leeds have had four players emerge from relative obscurity to become huge talents for the future.

Because of that, it’s not a surprise that Joseph is grateful for the work Orta has done overseeing transfers, as he himself is one of the successes Orta had at Leeds.

Leeds United quiz: Did Jermaine Beckford score a goal against these 15 sides during his time at Elland Road?