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'Heroic' Leeds United loanee Diego Llorente praised by BT Sport commentators for what he did in Lazio v Roma
Leeds centre-back Diego Llorente made a stunning tackle while playing for Roma in the Rome derby against Lazio on Sunday (19 March).
The Whites loaned the Spaniard out in January in a surprise deal as Jose Mourinho looked to bolster his defence in their pursuit of European football in Serie A, but so far he has failed to really make an impact in Italy.
However after coming on at half-time to replace Paulo Dybala, Llorente was called into action late on with Roma chasing an equaliser and Lazio counter-attacking and earned big praise from both commentators live on BT Sport (19 March, 18:35).
“That’s a heroic challenge from Llorente,” Dave Farrar said.
“Llorente did so well,” Nigel Spackman added. “He anticipated what Luis Alberto was going to do, and then Luis Alberto takes it on and he slides in, he should go himself. Brilliant interception.”
Finally
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Leeds allowed Llorente to leave the club in January because his future at the club is looking bleak after the arrival of Max Wober in January.
There was an option to buy included in the deal, but it currently seems unlikely that it will be taken up by Roma because Llorente has struggled for game time so far since the move.
But while he did get substituted again later in the game, that was due to the situation of chasing a goal rather than his performance because he actually played quite well.
With more opportunities to play and more moments like that one, Mourinho is the type of manager to begin to trust him and use him more, which will mean the chances of Leeds recouping their cash and getting rid of some deadwood.
He’s got quality, he’s just not a Premier League defender, so Leeds need this move to work out to get him out of the door at Elland Road swiftly and with no problems.
In other Leeds news, one academy starlet has been tipped to get a first-team chance after what happened this week.
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