Leeds jet out on double Spanish recruitment mission with eyes on La Liga – report

Thu 22 March 2018 13:57, UK

Leeds United’s scouts have jetted out to Spain to watch two fixtures over the weekend, according to a report.

Reliable scouting experts Scouts in Attendance claimed on their Twitter account that Leeds had sent their recruitment experts on a mission to watch Deportivo draw 1-1 with Las Palmas in La Liga, before casting an eye over Lugo’s 2-1 win over Alcorcon in the second-tier.

The report says that it was unclear who exactly the Whites were keeping a close eye on but it seems that director of football Victor Orta is still sending scouts out to the Iberian peninsula, presumably in search of the next Samuel Saiz.

#lufc scout watched #deportivo 1-1 #udlp & Lugo 2-1 Alcorcon on Sat… about an hour and ten minutes drive between the two grounds…no idea who they were watching!
— Scouts in Attendance (@scoutsattending) March 21, 2018

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One player in the Deportivo and Las Palmas game that may have excited Leeds’ scouts was Croatia international Alen Halilovic.

The former Barcelona player is on loan at Las Palmas from Hamburg and scored the opening goal inside three minutes.

Football Insider verdict

Orta has been widely criticised for his recruitment drive at Elland Road and many have urged Andrea Radrizzani to sack the director of football. There’s little doubt that Leeds have scouts stationed across Europe but it seems most of their research is being focused on Spain after the success that Saiz has had since he was signed from Huesca last year. There are some good players for Deportivo and Las Palmas but some of them could be out of reach for a Championship club that is unwilling to spend big fees on one signing. Lugo and Alcorcon do not exactly have many players that would get fans off their seats.