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Leeds United’s loan army grew over the past week, and the club now has more than 15 players out on temporary contracts.

It appears to be part of the longer term Victor Orta plan. Recruit youngsters and cheaper players from around Europe and then loan them out in the hope they’ll one day be suitable for the first team or to make a profit from.

As plans go, it’s not the worst.

One of the players to leave in the past week has been Oliver Sarkic.

Born in Grimsby, the footballer moved to Belgium as a youngster with his family, going through the Anderlecht youth system before signing for Benfica. From there he moved to Leeds United, in a transfer which was initially a loan deal.

Now Sarkic is at Spanish lower league side Barakaldo, and they’ve gone to the extent of making Orta’s role in the transfer clear. 

On their official website, Barakaldo thank Orta for ‘making the loan possible’, underlining the Leeds United transfer guru’s connections in Spanish football.