Neil Redfearn believes Victor Orta’s presence could be a key factor behind Garry Monk’s decision to leave Leeds United at the end of last season.
Monk came close to carrying Leeds to the Championship playoffs last term and the club were keen to extend his stay but the former Swansea man left the club to join Middlesbrough in the summer.
Thomas Christiansen was brought in and he along with new director of football Orta overhauled the Leeds squad during the summer transfer window and retooled the playing staff.
However, Redfearn is unsure how much input the new Leeds head coach had on the recruitment as he feels Orta was the one who brought in most of the players in the window.
And the former Leeds boss feels that one of the reasons Monk left the club is because he felt he would not have much of a say when it came to recruitment in the Spaniard’s presence.
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“At the beginning of the season when everything is fresh and new and [everyone was saying] ‘we are all in it as part of the process and we are bringing players in’.
“But that’s not true", Redfearn said on Radio Yorkshire, "Victor Orta was bringing the players in and I am not sure how much input Thomas Christiansen had in it.
“I think this might be one of the reasons Garry Monk wanted to disappear because he didn’t think he would get the chance to bring the players in [with Orta at the club].
“I get that as how can you be judged as a manager if you didn’t get the chance to bring the players in?”
Orta’s recruitment has come in for fierce criticism following a poor run of form that has seen Leeds lose seven of their last nine Championship games.
