Leeds United: Daniele De Rossi drops ‘wasted’ verdict on Diego Llorente in Roma v Fiorentina
Roma manager Daniele De Rossi has dropped his verdict on Leeds United loanee Diego Llorente after the 2-2 draw with Fiorentina on Sunday (10 March).
The Spaniard scored a late equaliser as Roma clawed back a draw against their opponents, netting a superb goal on the half-volley in added time.
Llorente left Elland Road last season as the Whites were facing relegation from the Premier League, joining the Yellow and Reds on a six-month loan before extending his stay in Italy.
Speaking via Roma’s official website on Monday (11 March), De Rossi said: “Diego is a quality player – he’s almost wasted as a defender. He’s got tremendous ability with his feet and is great at reading the game. He’s already shown previously in his career that he can score such goals.
“Evan [Ndicka] found him with a great header but he still had a lot of work to do, and he did wonderfully to finish the move off. It’s a wonderful effort and of course, it had been worked on in training. It was really beautiful.”
Does Diego Llorente have a future at Leeds United?
Signed in September 2020 from Real Sociedad by Marcelo Bielsa, Llorente has somewhat proven why Leeds wanted him at the club.
However, having jumped ship as the Whites faced an exile from the Premier League last season, the 30-year-old could have played his final game at Elland Road.
There is every possibility that Roma want to make Llorente’s transfer permanent before the end of the season, having made 12 appearances before extending his loan spell and making a further 32 appearances so far this season.
With Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu currently lighting up the Championship, and Pascal Struijk yet to return from injury, it would be difficult to see Llorente get back into the Leeds starting XI, especially if they can make Rodon’s transfer permanent.
The way that the defender’s career at Elland Road has petered out is certainly a shame, having shown plenty of potential while in West Yorkshire.
In other Leeds United news, Don Goodman has shared a new promotion verdict.
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