Victor Orta was a skilled transfer agent when it came to Leeds United’s youth investment, although he should have invested more in some of the youngsters he did not.
Mateo Joseph leading the line, Pascal Struijk donning the captain’s armband, and Crysencio Summerville being sold for a large sum of money in the summer are all examples of the success that can be achieved by searching Europe for young players.
Victor Orta had many more misses than hits during his time at Leeds, but the Spaniard is now hoping that some of those undiscovered talents can blossom in Sevilla.
Currently employed by Sevilla, Orta’s strategy of investing in young players in order to save millions throughout next transfer windows is paying off, as evidenced by one particular deal.
But Orta had been keeping an eye on Mejia’s progress since the striker’s debut at Sevilla, and he made a move in January when the player pressed to extend his contract at Old Trafford:
In actuality, Mateo’s expectations were always geared toward the first team.
The player’s history begins when Víctor Orta was a work team member in Leeds. Mejía was noticed by one of the team’s under-20 scouts. Isaac’s transfer to the first team in Seville caught the attention of the sports administration right away.
Mejia made his senior debut at the end of September, coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Club, after leading the youth team to three goals and one assist in five games this season.
In the big picture, losing out on Mejia isn’t that devastating, but it does highlight how poor Leeds’ young player success rate was.
We signed a lot of players who were obviously very good, but they either didn’t develop at all or were sold for pennies on the dollar.
Two notable misfires are Max Dean and Elia Caprile; the former scored goals in European play and for the England youth team, while the latter is currently starting in goal for Napoli.