Samuel Saiz has revealed that Leeds United director of football Victor Orta kept tabs on him for a “long time” before he joined for £3.5million in the summer.
Orta only took the reins at Elland Road at the end of May after quitting his recruitment role at Middlesbrough following their relegation from the Premier League.
But playmaker Saiz explained that his fellow Spaniard always had one eye on him stretching back to his days at the Riverside Stadium.
In an interview with Marca about his career and move to Leeds, Saiz said: “The sporting director of Leeds, Victor Orta, was following me a long time and every player likes to feel loved.
“Leeds, even if it is in second (division), is a great club with a lot of history.
“In Elland Road there are always 40,000 people cheering us and away from home they take almost 5,000.”
OPINION
Orta has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks for the difficulties many of Leeds’ summer signings have had in adapting to the Championship. But the transfer chief pulled off an absolute blinder by landing Saiz for £3.5million. The playmaker has made a huge impact at Leeds and the team must be built around him if the Yorkshire giants are to get their promotion bid back on track. Goal scorer and creator, technically excellent with vision and touch, Saiz already looks too good for the English second tier.