**Why Leeds United’s Recruitment Has Slowed: Impact of Victor Orta’s Departure and an 18% Funding Cut Revealed**

Over the past year, Leeds United’s recruitment of promising young talents has significantly slowed down.

Following their promotion to the Premier League four years ago, Leeds elevated their youth recruitment efforts, bringing in players like Crysencio Summerville, Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, and Cody Drameh to the Under-21 squad. They invested millions in these signings, a strategy typically used by top English clubs with vast resources.

These players have had varied success at Elland Road. Drameh is likely to leave this summer, and Greenwood and Gelhardt don’t seem to fit into Farke’s plans. Summerville, however, has excelled, winning the Championship Player of the Year award last season. Despite these mixed outcomes, all four have played a significant number of first-team games, which is not the case for subsequent recruits.

Lewis Bate, Sean McGurk, Leo Hjelde, and Amari Miller were signed the following summer, but only two have made first-team appearances. They have primarily been considered bit-part players or standout U21s at best. Mateo Joseph, signed in January 2022, stands out as an exception, excelling in the reserve squad and recently breaking into the senior setup. However, he remains on the fringes of the starting XI, where Gelhardt and Greenwood once played.

Other recruits like Darko Gyabi, Sonny Perkins, and Diogo Monteiro initially joined the U21s. While two have made senior debuts, none seem poised to significantly impact the first team as Leeds heads into a second successive Championship campaign.

Leeds has invested substantially in young talents over the past few seasons, but with only a few genuine breakthroughs, they seem hesitant to continue spending on players who are not yet first-team ready. This shift in strategy can also be attributed to changes in the club’s leadership.

Victor Orta, the former director of football responsible for the initial youth recruitment push, has since left for Sevilla. Adam Underwood, previously the academy manager, was promoted to head of football operations last summer, overseeing first-team affairs. Martin Diggle replaced him as academy manager in February 2024. Additionally, Jordan Miles became the head of recruitment that same month. Between Orta’s departure last April and the recruitment team’s restructuring four months ago, signing young talents took a backseat to acquiring first-team-ready players, a priority for technical director Gretar Steinsson and recruitment consultant Nick Hammond.

While players like Summerville and Pascal Struijk, a pioneering U21 signing who became a key first-team player, have been success stories, Leeds’ success rate in youth acquisitions has declined in recent years. Given the urgent need to return to the top flight and Daniel Farke’s July 2023 statement about creating a greater separation between the U21s and the senior group, it’s understandable why the club’s prolific youth recruitment has dwindled.

However, this doesn’t mean Leeds has neglected their academy. Last week, the club announced the signing of 10 teenagers to two-year scholarship terms. The Under-18s reached the FA Youth Cup Final for the first time since 1998 last season, highlighting the importance of locally recruited talent at Thorp Arch. Additionally, the club has focused on recruiting from north of the border, bringing in highly-rated players like Josh McDonald and Lewis Pirie in the past year. These players featured for the U18s last season and are expected to make a more significant impact at the U21 level in 2024/25. This suggests a possible shift in policy towards targeting U18s instead of more expensive, developed U21 players.

In essence, Leeds has spent heavily on academy players who have yet to prove themselves as first-team regulars. This spending is hard to justify financially, especially with a reduction in parachute payments by 18 percent this season and the loss of Premier League central payments and broadcast revenue.