Leeds United: Victor Orta's £18m outlay has flopped in epic proportion - View | OneFootball

Diego Llorente's 2020 move to Leeds United didn't live up to expectations

Earlier this summer, Diego Llorente completed a permanent move away from Leeds United, signing a four-year deal with La Liga side Real Betis, and you'll struggle to find a Leeds fan too disappointed with the news.

It appeared to be a serious coup for Leeds United in the summer of 2020 when they announced the signing of Spanish international centre-back Llorente, but his time in Yorkshire failed to live up to expectations, and it proved to be a monumental waste of money.

Leeds' Sporting Director at the time, Victor Orta, forked out a reported £18million to sign him from Real Sociedad, a horrendous waste of money in hindsight, and a really poor bit of business.

Following their promotion to the Premier League in 2020, Leeds made a number of signings to ensure their squad was able to compete in the top-flight, and given his status as a Spanish international, Llorente looked an excellent signing for the club.

However, his time at Elland Road couldn't have got off to a worse start, and he missed the first few months of the campaign thanks to a groin injury, meaning he was on the back foot from the get-go.

He made his debut in a 3-1 loss against Chelsea in December 2020, but continued injury woes meant that he'd play just ten more minutes of league football before the middle of February.

Llorente did eventually string a run of games together, impressing alongside Pascal Struijk as the side finished ninth in the Premier League. He even scored in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool in April, but just 15 appearances in his first season wasn't the ideal start, and it set the tone for what followed.

The 2021/22 was Llorente's most fruitful at Elland Road in terms of outings, but that in itself is a low bar, with the player making 28 league appearances as Leeds stayed up on the final day of the season under Jesse Marsch.

The Spaniard also started the first six games of the 2022/23 campaign, but he soon found himself demoted to the bench, and after just eight league games, he was loaned to Italian side Roma.

14 minutes off the bench against Accrington Stanley in January 2023 was to be Llorente's final appearance in a Leeds shirt, and he'd go on to spend the entirety of the 2023/24 season on loan in the Italian capital too.

During his four seasons as a contracted Leeds player, Llorente made just 59 appearances - a poor return, and a really disappointing bit of business from Orta.

Leeds United made a huge loss on Diego Llorente

Real Betis announced the signing of Llorente in May of this year for a fee of just £2.5million, a nominal fee when you consider Leeds forked out £18million to bring him to the club a short while ago.

This just added insult to injury for Leeds. Had they been able to recoup a decent fee it certainly would have helped soften the blow of Llorente's failed time in Yorkshire, but receiving such a small fee just emphasised how bad a move it had been for Leeds.

It was inevitable that he would move on this summer with the player spending the last 18 months out on loan and with Leeds being a Championship club, but supporters would have liked to have seen the club receive more money for someone who is a fully-fledged Spanish international.

Leeds made a number of poor signings in the Premier League, which ultimately proved to be huge wastes of money, and it's one of the reasons why they find themselves preparing for another season in the second tier.