Leeds United star Mateo Joseph has expressed his gratitude towards former Whites sporting director Victor Orta for taking him to Elland Road and admitted that the promises he made to him have come true.
Joseph has emerged as the first-choice striker for Leeds manager Daniel Farke this season and scored in their 2-0 win over Hull City at Elland Road just before the international break.
The forward was in and out of the team last season but Farke has shown immense faith in him and he is now tasked with the job of handling the pressure of being the Leeds number 9.
A product of the Espanyol academy, Leeds snapped up the Spaniard in January 2022 and he broke into the first-team set-up last year.
Former Leeds sporting director Victor Orta played a big role in convincing Joseph to move to the Whites and the striker is thankful towards the current Sevilla deal maker.
Mateo Joseph admits Victor Orta’s promises came true
Joseph revealed that he was not impressed with the contract Espanyol offered him and it led to the striker entertaining the thought of leaving the club.
Orta and a member of his staff flew down to Spain to sell the move to Leeds and the Spaniard admitted that the project on offer from the Yorkshire giants was impressive.
The forward conceded that he remains grateful towards the former Leeds sporting director as he trusted him then and all the promises that he made in those meetings have come true.
“I was in the last year of my contract and whenever you are in the last year and you have done things well, several teams come to offer you things”, Joseph told Spanish outlet Relevo.
“We didn’t like the offer that Espanyol made us.
“So we listened to offers and VÃctor Orta [Leeds’ sporting director] and Gaby RuÃz [member of the Leeds sports management] came to Santander.
“We spoke to them and we really liked the project.
“Everything they told us has come true. I am very grateful to them, even though they are no longer there at Leeds because they always trusted me.”
