Leeds United: It is impossible not to be impressed by Victor Orta’s £17m transfer swoop

Leeds United: It is impossible not to be impressed by Victor Orta’s £17m transfer swoop

Raphinha stood out as a star player during his time at Leeds United, dazzling fans with his directness and left-foot magic. Despite challenges in his second season, Raphinha took on the burden of keeping Leeds in the Premier League with key goals. With 29 goal contributions in two seasons, Raphinha’s time at Leeds elevated his career to new heights before moving to Barcelona.

During their three-year stint in the Premier League from 2020-21 to 2022-23, Leeds United had several stellar players. However, one man in particular stood above the rest. That player was Raphinha, who, in 67 games for the club, made a huge impact as he wowed fans with his directness and wand of left-foot.

The Brazilian signed for the Whites from Rennes for £17 million ahead of the club’s return to the Premier League, and he was greeted with expectation given his impressive exploits in France and Portugal. Whilst the Leeds fans couldn’t enjoy his first season at Elland Road due to Covid-19, the following campaign saw supporters reintegrated into stadiums and Raphinha continued to dazzle, leaving a legacy behind when he eventually joined Barcelona in 2022.

Raphinha’s Elland Road impact

Raphinha played a key role under Marcelo Bielsa, brilliant in possession, and combined this with his manager’s archetypal workrate. In addition, his dead-ball prowess was a constant threat to opponents, and he certainly wasn’t one-footed, able to use his right-foot when called upon. This made him an extremely difficult winger to predict, with left-backs unsure whether he would be taking it down the line or cutting back inside and unleashing a shot.

Featuring predominantly on the right-hand side of midfield, he made his first significant contribution to the team with a 79th-minute winner against Everton at Goodison Park. It was some finish as well, with the Brazilian hitting a fizzing strike into the bottom right-hand corner past Jordan Pickford. Goals against Everton became somewhat of a feature of his time in Yorkshire, with the winger netting a further two during his next three fixtures against them.

Raphinha continued to impress throughout the 2020-21 season and finished the campaign with an impressive six goals and nine assists as the Whites secured a ninth-placed finish. The following year, Bielsa’s system was somewhat worked out, and Leeds struggled to earn anywhere near the points they accrued the previous year. This led to a change of manager, with Jesse Marsch being appointed as head coach.

During this campaign, the Brazilian took the burden upon himself to steer his side away from trouble, and he was the main goalscoring threat, with Patrick Bamford’s numbers dropping off significantly amid injury. This saw him score eight goals in his first sixteen games as he continued to reward the trust that the Argentine placed in him. However, as Leeds’ form tailed off in January 2022, he began to struggle to find any significant contributions as the club turned to Marsch.

This would only be a minor blip though, and he showed his class on the final day of the campaign to retain the club’s Premier League status. With Leeds needing a win, Raphinha came up trumps as he scored a penalty in the 54th minute to give his side the lead over Brentford. This sparked wild celebrations in the away end and, despite the Bees finding a leveller, Jack Harrison fired a deflected volley past David Raya in added time to secure a crucial victory – Raphinha climbed into the stands to be with the fans.

This moment with the travelling faithful would be his last experience as a Leeds player, with the Brazilian moving on to Barcelona that summer in a deal worth £55 million. Raphinha’s two-season legacy at Leeds United has only been extended at Barça, where he has managed a remarkable 45 goal contributions in 87 appearances. He has also become a star for Brazil, netting eight goals in 29 appearances for his native country.

For Leeds fans, Victor Orta’s signing of Raphinha can be considered his biggest triumph as the Brazilian became a modern-day legend despite accruing a minimal 67 appearances. In the future, they will surely continue to wish him well and hope that he can take his career to even bigger levels.