Leeds United’s technical director Gretar Steinsson is a former Tottenham Hotspur employee having previously undertaken the role of performance director at the North London club.
The Whites’ transfer hierarchy this summer has been bolstered with the arrival of recruitment lead Jordan Miles from Aberdeen, but as was the case last summer, it will be Steinsson and transfers consultant Nick Hammond leading the search for incoming players and holding talks with clubs, representatives and players.
Steinsson, who arrived last July, is overseeing the club’s summer recruitment alongside Hammond, who also remains at the club after an initial successful posting during the transfer of ownership to 49ers Enterprises 12 months ago.
The former Icelandic international is a regular fixture at United matches, often sat alongside chief executive Angus Kinnear or chairman Paraag Marathe whenever the American is visiting from the United States.
An ex-Premier League defender with Bolton Wanderers, Steinsson held roles at Fleetwood Town, Everton and Spurs before arriving at Leeds but has flown under the radar compared to his predecessor Victor Orta.
United’s first loan signing of last summer saw Steinsson hold negotiations with his former employer Tottenham over the signing of Joe Rodon. Unlike Leeds’ late-window business, the Rodon deal was tied up within three weeks of the 42-year-old’s arrival as technical director. Admittedly, the transfer was anything but a solo endeavour as Kinnear also made use of his own contacts to bridge the gap while the 49ers positioned their ducks in a row, but the swiftness of negotiations was aided by the Icelander’s arrival.
Deemed by some in the footballing world as a difficult club to deal with in negotiations, Spurs have driven a hard bargain for their players in recent years and Leeds’ talks for Rodon this summer are unlikely to be straightforward, not least because he is into the final year of his stay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The North Londoners have already triggered an extension in the Welsh defender’s contract in order to protect their investment, despite all parties acknowledging the player’s future lies elsewhere. This is to ensure Spurs receive a fee for the 26-year-old’s services, should an interested party – of which there will be plenty – meet the club’s demands.
Leeds possess a unique advantage in having Steinsson lead negotiations given he shares a prior working relationship with those who brokered the loan move last summer, as well as having worked alongside several key people at the club whose call it will be to decide Rodon’s future.
Premier League sides do have the more obvious financial advantage, which ultimately may prove the difference between an Elland Road return and continuing his career elsewhere, but Rodon is believed to consider Leeds his priority destination this summer.
Whilst sometimes clubs can enter into negotiations blind, Leeds, via Steinsson, are well aware of how Spurs will seek to conduct their Rodon business. It is not likely to be an uncomplicated process, the transfer of multi-million pound assets rarely are, but it can be simplified to some extent by United’s man on the inside.
Should a deal be struck to bring Rodon back to LS11 on a permanent basis, there is every chance the relationships fostered by Steinsson in the past will have been leant on to secure one of the club’s most consistent players for another year and possibly several more.
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