, Leeds United complete record signing of striker once loaned to Bolton

Leeds United complete record signing of striker once loaned to Bolton

In news that was expected at some point this weekend, Leeds United have announced the capture of Spanish international Rodrigo Moreno on a club record, £27m deal from Spanish side Valencia.

He joins a Whites outfit preparing for their first Premier League campaign in 16 years. He arrives at Elland Road after five years at Valencia, five years which saw him make 220 appearances for them, scoring 59 goals and creating 41 assists.

172 of those appearances have come in Spain’s La Liga competition alongside 38 goals and 33 assists. However, this will not be his first foray into English football – he was here ten years ago with a season-long loan stint at Bolton Wanderers.

https://twitter.com/LUFC/status/1299617788768800770?s=20

Whilst the fortunes of Leeds United and Bolton can’t be any more starkly different this season; ten years ago they were reversed. It was Bolton who were the Premier League side and Leeds United had just climbed back into the Sky Bet Championship after their trials in League One.

Rodrigo joined the Trotters from previous club Benfica on a season-long loan deal. He featured in 17 Premier League games for them, scoring against Wigan Athletic and adding an assist against Sunderland. In all competitions, and at all levels, Rodrigo made 24 appearances for Bolton, adding a further two goals against Blackpool in an Under-21s reserve league fixture.

Speaking of what that season added to his game, Rodrigo told the Guardian:

England was good to me, most of it was, anyway. You go to England, you know the physical demands – you’ve got no choice but to adapt and that makes you grow. Working there daily helped. I enjoyed it.

In that Guardian article, he also reserved praise for Bolton, adding:

I liked it a lot. Bolton’s a small place and people live totally differently to Spain, but we were there to play football and the club looked after us.”

That was 10 years ago, the stint of play in Bolton. Now he is back in English football and back wearing white. The football at Elland Road might be different but the physical demands of English football that he experienced whilst on loan haven’t changed.

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