Disappointment as performance since Leeds United exit doesn’t get player in national squad – Had been expected

Sometimes you can’t have everything in life and that’s currently the case for former Leeds United defender Diego Llorente.

That’s at least according to Estadio Deportivo, who cover the disappointment around Llorente missing out on Spain’s squad for this international break.

He joined Real Betis from Leeds in the summer in a €3.25m deal and has been a regular for Manuel Pellegrini’s side since, earning plenty of rave reviews too.

That had led to him and Real Betis eagerly awaiting the squad announcement by Spain boss Luis de la Fuente today, believing that Llorente would be in. With Atletico Madrid’s Robin Le Normand also out, it was felt the former Leeds man should be given his chance.

Instead, he will be forced to wait as De La Fuente has called up Athletic Club’s Aitor Paredes for his first appearance in the group instead.

That’s a major disappointment for Llorente who, alongside teammate Marc Bartra, believed they had given themselves a great shot of making their returns.

Llorente’s last appearance for his country was in 2022 while Barta hasn’t been in the picture since 2018.

The former Leeds man certainly should have been in consideration according to Estadio given that he has been ‘one of the most outstanding’ defenders in La Liga’s first 12 games. As an example of that, he is currently second for recoveries.

This has not influenced De La Fuente this time around, with the centre-back forced to continue working in the hope that changes in future.