OPINION
Victor Orta has had a mixed relationship with the Leeds fans.
They turned on their transfer supremo when their season fell apart under Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom last season.
And some of his transfers were disastrous – Felix Wiedwald and Jay-Roy Grot to name just two.
However, things have turned around under new manager Marcelo Bielsa. Leeds are top of the league, despite not buying many players in the summer and suffering a number of injuries to big players this season.
There’s real optimism at Elland Road this season and there’s a feeling that if Orta can bring in a quality player or two in January, Leeds will finally get themselves back to the Premier League.
And then he will need to start thinking about the Premier League. As good as the Leeds squad is, they will need to strengthen in the summer.
Two players that have been linked are particularly exciting – Ibai Gomez and Ezequiel Ponce.
Ibai Gomez is a 28-year-old winger who plays for Alaves but is out of contract in the summer.
He’s scored three goals in 11 La Liga games but the club might need to sell him in January or risk losing him for free, and it’s been claimed that he is open to a reunion with Marcelo Bielsa, who he played for at Athletic Bilbao.
Gomez would stand out in the Championship and provide Leeds with the quality they need in the tough run-in next year.
Leeds have scouted Ponce, the AEK Athens striker recently and he’s another player Bielsa knows all about.
The former Newell’s Old Boys player was signed by Bielsa at Lille and has since moved to AEK Athens, where he’s scored five goals in eight league games this season.
He’s there on loan so wouldn’t be available until the summer but he would provide the quality that Bielsa will need in the top-flight.
These are both serious players and show Leeds’ ambitions. If Orta can bring both of them to Elland Road, he’ll also seal his legacy and will be a hero in fans’ eyes.