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Leeds United decided to part ways with sporting director Victor Orta earlier this year after his work contributed to the club’s drop back down to the Championship.
The Whites were relegated from the Premier League after three years in the top-flight as the Spaniard’s work in the transfer market, and in selecting managers, failed to keep the side afloat.
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 |
Whilst you could criticise the now-Sevilla chief for the signings he did make during his time at Elland Road, you could also question the players he failed to bring in who have gone on to be successful elsewhere.
The Yorkshire-based outfit have been linked with interest in a number of talented gems over the years, only to watch their stock soar as they shine with another club.
One example of this is former Tottenham Hotspur winger Marcus Edwards as he has caught the eye since Leeds had their eye on him earlier in his career.
Were Leeds interested in Marcus Edwards?
Football Insider once reported that the Whites had shortlisted the English forward, who was playing for Vitoria Guimaraes at the time, during the summer transfer window in 2020.
They also claimed that the club continued to monitor the forward ahead of 2021, although it was stated that adding another winger to the group was not a priority for Marcelo Bielsa at that point.
However, he did not leave Vitoria until January 2022 as Portuguese giants Sporting swooped in to secure his services. They reportedly paid an initial fee of €7.7m (£6.6m) to snap up the former Spurs prospect.
This came after the exciting whiz had impressed in Liga Bwin over the previous two-and-a-half years and proven himself to be a reliable attacking outlet on the flank.
Edwards enjoyed a fantastic debut campaign in Portugal with Vitoria as he racked up seven goals and seven assists in 26 league matches for the club.
He averaged a superb Sofascore rating of 7.15, which was the highest within the squad, and showcased his immense close control with the ball as the talented gem completed 3.4 dribbles per game.
After two full seasons with Vitoria, Edwards’ form during the first half of the 2021/22 campaign convinced Sporting to pay £6.6m to secure his services.
That came off the back of seven goals and three assists in 18 league outings before the January transfer window, which is when the Portuguese giants pounced to sign him.
This shows that Leeds missed out on the chance to sign Edwards for a fee of £6.6m after tracking him during, at least, 2020 and 2021 with Orta at the helm.
How many goals has Edwards scored for Sporting?
The 24-year-old has produced 16 goals in 72 matches for Sporting since his move to the club in 2022 and has proven himself to be an exciting performer over the last 18 months or so.
He hit the ground running during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign as the former Norwich City loanee contributed with three goals and three assists in 12 league games, which is an average of one goal involvement every other match.
Edwards then enjoyed a terrific 2022/23 season as his magical performances domestically and in Europe throughout the year caught the eye.
The young ace averaged an excellent Sofascore rating of 7.13 across 33 Liga Bwin appearances and chipped in with seven goals and nine assists.
However, he may feel that his teammates let him down on the assist front as the talented wizard created a whopping 15 ‘big chances’ for his fellow attackers and provided 1.7 key passes per game.
Of players with at least 15 league appearances, only Pote (2.2) produced more key passes per match than Edwards and this shows that he was one of Sporting’s top creators throughout the campaign.
He also impressed in the Champions League with two goals and two assists in six group stage outings, which earned him an average Sofascore rating of 7.02 – the second-highest rating in the squad.
Edwards, whose ability was once described as “bizarre” by ex-teammate Jeffrey Fortes, has also started the current season in fine form. The 24-year-old hotshot has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.20 across five appearances and showcased his creativity on a regular basis.
No Sporting player has produced as many key passes per game as the English ace (2.4) and he has created four ‘big chances’ for his teammates in just five games.
How much is Edwards worth now?
Earlier this year, it was reported that Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers were both keen on a deal for the attacker but that it would take a club-record for either of them to snap him up due to a €60m (£52m) release clause in his Sporting contract.
The report also claimed that the Portuguese side also wanted to increase that figure to €80m (£69m) but Transfermarkt state that it remains at €60m as of 29/09/2023.
This means that his value has soared by a whopping 688% from the initial £6.6m that Sporting paid Vitoria to secure his services back at the start of 2022.
It would now cost a team £45.4m more to sign Edwards than it would have done prior to that transfer during the January transfer window of the 2021/22 campaign.
This shows that Orta and Leeds had a mare in their failed swoop for the talented magician as they missed out on an excellent player who could also have made them a significant profit.
His performances in Liga Bwin and the Champions League show that he has the quality to provide a consistent attacking threat on the right flank, as he has proven himself in Europe’s premier cup competition.
Edwards’ soaring market value and interest from Premier League clubs this year also suggest that the club could have cashed in on him if he had produced the same level of displays at Elland Road.
Therefore, Orta dropped the ball by failing to get a deal over the line for the former Vitoria star and he may look back at that as one of the moves that should have been pushed through instead of other signings.