Leeds United have undergone changes in executive roles since 2017.
Victor Orta was director of football for six years at Elland Road and made a lot of key decisions that have paid off. Orta pushed for a youth focused recruitment policy which saw the likes of Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville and Pascal Struijk signed for small fees. Leeds made a huge profit off Summerville when he joined West Ham, and Struijk is now the captain of the first team.
Orta also brought Marcelo Bielsa to the club, which saw Leeds have one of their most successful periods in a long time. Red Bull became minority stakeholders in the club in 2024. But before that the club used 49ers links to hire Jesse Marsch who spent over €60million on talents from the Red Bull group.
Now, the club is set to undergo a massive change as one key figure is set to change roles within the organization.
QUIZ: Can you name the Leeds game these 10 goal celebrations are from?
Leeds United set to lose key figure at the club
Credit: Imago Images
Gretar Steinsson was Technical Adviser to the Iceland FA before he joined Tottenham as Performance Director. Steinsson was Technical Director of Leeds but will now be joining 49ers Enterprises’ executive global football structure.
Now The Athletic is reporting that no one will take up the vacancy at the Technical Director role after Steinsson leaves. 49er Enterprises believes that the current structure at the club will be able to operate without a replacement.
Nick Hammond, head of recruitment Jordan Miles, and head of football operations Adam Underwood will now be in charge of future transfer business at Leeds United.
One Red Bull recruit under scrutiny
Brenden Aaronson is Leeds’ second top scorer in the Championship this season. And just like Joel Piroe, the American has been criticized for his inconsistency this season.
Aaronson has two goals in his last four games, but went without a goal in the previous seven. Daniel Farke says the attacking midfielder may be suffering from his workload:
“If you look at their workload, he was the hardest-working player for us. He had a good shooting chance from 14 yards, but he did not take it. I want my number 10 to bury that chance in a corner. He can improve on this.”
“We spoke at half-time about his tendency to run too much on the wings and then be in the key moment, not where it counts, close to a striker. He should wait for the moment for the ball to come to him in a better position. He has sometimes played for teams that are more hectic. I love his energy, but he needs to channel it.”
