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Jesse Marsch job on the line as he sanctions Diego Llorente exit from Leeds United - Sky Sports pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Paul Robinson can see understand why Jesse Marsch has given the green light for Diego Llorente to be shipped out of Leeds United late in the January transfer window.
Llorente, 29, signed a new contract at Leeds just last month but he’s now widely reported to be on the verge of a move to Roma after he was spotted arriving in the Italian capital on Monday (Francesco Iucca, 30 January).
According to Sky Sports, the Spain international is due to undergo a medical ahead of joining Roma on a loan-to-buy basis from Leeds.
The Athletic journalist Phil Hay also reported on Monday that the option-to-buy clause in Llorente’s loan deal at Roma, if triggered, would see Leeds recoup the £18million they paid for the centre-back when he joined from Real Sociedad in 2020.
Robinson didn’t expect to see Llorente leave this month but he can understand why because Marsch needs to do whatever it takes to save his job at Elland Road.
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“It’s out of the blue but Leeds have had defensive problems and Llorente’s not been good enough to nail down a spot in the side,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News.
“He’s played well when he’s come in every now and then. He’s had one or two games. But his consistency has been poor, he’s leaked a lot of goals and going forward now, they have enough strikers so the problem is the defensive side.
“If they’re starting to ship some of the deadwood out then that’s for the better.
“Llorente’s clearly not cut it as he should have done in the Premier League and fair play to the manager for making those decisions.
“At the end of the day, Jesse Marsch’s job is still on the line at the moment.
“They still haven’t won in the Premier League since 5 November and Marsch now has to make decisions this month on how he wants to do things. If it doesn’t work, it’s his head on the block.”
Llorente has played just eight times in the Premier League for Leeds this season with Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and new signing Max Wober seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.
In other Leeds United news, visit our live transfer blog for around-the-clock updates straight from Elland Road.