Leeds have had a far from ideal start to the Premier League season and are currently placed 15th in the table after 11 games.

The Whites have won two of their 11 matches, with five draws and four defeats, and are three points off the relegation zone as it stands.

Marcelo Bielsa was backed in the transfer market over the summer, with Daniel James, Junior Firpo, Jack Harrison and Kristoffer Klaesson all coming in on permanent deals.

Orta disasterclass

Leeds' troubled form in the top flight this term suggests that the new arrivals are yet to have the desired impact on the results. One of the newcomers who has struggled to catch the eye is left-back Firpo, for whom the club reportedly paid Barcelona £12.8m in the summer.

The full-back joined the Catalan giants from Real Betis in 2019 and was valued by Transfermarkt at £22.5m at the time of the move. In his final season for Betis, he produced three goals and four assists from left-back in 24 La Liga outings, but failed to build on that as he was unable to force his way into the team at Camp Nou on a regular basis.

He made 41 appearances for Barcelona in two seasons, playing 24 times in La Liga, before they decided to cash in on him earlier this year. The defender only started three league matches in the entire 2020/21 campaign and Victor Orta swooped in to bring him to Elland Road despite his lack of minutes and form, whilst his value has also plummeted since his initial move to Barca in 2019.

At the time of writing (13/11/21), Transfermarkt value Firpo at £10.8m. This is a huge £11.7m drop from the £22.5m at which he was valued in 2019, showing that he has been on a downwards trend over the past couple of seasons and is a player struggling to find his form.

On paper, it appears as though Orta has pulled off a disasterclass by bringing in Firpo. He has signed a player whose value is diminishing and has been lacking in form, which has shown with his performances on the pitch in the Premier League this season.

Firpo has averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.29 in the top flight across six appearances, averaging 1.8 fouls conceded per game. This shows how poorly he has played for Bielsa this season and why, on the evidence provided so far, Orta has let him down in the transfer market by signing the left-back. There is still time for him to come good, but the signs are not great and it's beginning to look like a disasterclass by the Whites chief...

AND in other news, Possession lost 103x: "Headless" Leeds flop who's lost 62% duels has let Bielsa down...