Leeds United complete record breaking Rodrigo deal

Leeds United have completed the signing of striker Rodrigo Moreno from Valencia on a four-year deal, with the transfer initially worth £27 million.

The deal was held-up late-on as revealed by Guillem Balague, with some issues in the transfer still to be resolved, something that some supporters had suspected, with a twitter post picturing Rodrigo signing papers in one room, while Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear pace around in the other room as if something may be causing them issues.

But all was sorted out in the end and Leeds have got their man, breaking their transfer record with an initial fee of £27 million, with between £8-10 million in add-ons, most of which are viewed as ‘achievable’ by Valencia.

There has been plenty of debate among Leeds fans on if this is the best move they can make. You can’t argue with his pedigree, with the 29-year old due with the Spain squad soon. Meanwhile, he’s won four trophies in Portugal, including a league title, and a Copa del Rey with Valencia while also playing in The Champions League consistently.

His goal-scoring record isn’t that of a pure, serial goal-scorer. He is someone who will float between the channels and link the play, and despite last season’s difficulties Rodrigo can definitely score goals if he’s used well in the system.

Touching on last season’s difficulties, he started on the wrong foot at Valencia as he began the season by saying goodbye to his teammates ahead of a move to Atletico Madrid which fell through very late-on.

He then returned to a struggling team who would sack their coach early on, dividing the Valencia camp in two as they dropped to a disappointing 9th placed finish in La Liga.

However, Rodrigo has had interest from Spain’s top three clubs and holds a huge amount of experience and talent at the age of 29. Victor Orta recalled offering Rodrigo to Marcelo Bielsa, saying that he was given the nod with in a minute and a half.

Fans watching his highlights at Valencia can see why Leeds have made the move for a player who knows what it takes to play at the elite level, with his pace and link-up play very impressive alongside his goal-scoring attributes, as Rodrigo is ‘the best of the rest’ in creative play behind Messi and Suarez in La Liga.

In other transfer related news, The Whites are set to have Robin Koch in Leeds for a medical as a 13 million euro (£11.5m) fee is agreed with Freiburg.

Are you happy with this signing? Tell us your thoughts on this record-breaking deal using @ThruItAllLUFC on Twitter.