Could Victor Orta Convince Mario Pašalić to Come to Elland Road?

Victor Orta, our new Director of Football, is a man that has been around the block with a number of good teams. It should be no surprise to see him use the relationships he's had with players on former teams to bring them in, or it should be no surprise that I'll be begging him to do so.

The first of many players is Mario Pašalić. Pašalić is Chelsea's 22-year-old Croatian center mid, and is someone who should cross Orta's mind when he's thinking about potential future signings for Leeds United. The connection here is when Orta was working for Spanish side Elche CF, where Pašalić was loaned to for the 2014/15 season.

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Going off transfermarkt.com values, Pašalić is valued at $6.5 mill, so loaning him in would be a more feasible option. However, with a logjam of N'golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, and Nemanja Matic among others, now might be the time for Pašalić to leave for greener pastures; He signed with the club in 2014 and has yet to make his debut for the club. Signing Pašalić on a permanent or a loan deal with an option to buy ranging anywhere from $2mil-$4mil should be enough for the Blues to cut their losses. Bonus: Pašalić is entering the last year of his deal, giving more possibility that he'll be on the move.

After loans to Elche, Monaco, and AC Milan, it's finally time for Mario Pašalić to test out the English waters. It all starts with Victor Orta.