Diego Llorente has insisted he left Leeds United to step outside his comfort zone after a "strange" period at Elland Road.
The centre-back only made 13 appearances for the Whites in the first half of the season before being sent out to Italy until the end of the season, with an option-to-buy clause included in the deal. Roma came calling to rescue Llorente from a frustrating campaign under Jesse Marsch.
Speaking to Spanish station Radio Marca Donostia, the defender cited a fresh challenge as his main reason for leaving, while reflecting on turbulent time in England due to world events. Llorente said: "As I said before, they were a little bit strange (his years at Leeds) with the theme of the pandemic, the stop-start (season) without the fans... it was a little strange.
"I was very happy, but in the end my objective has always been to improve day by day, to try to gain new experiences, not to be satisfied, leaving the comfort zone that we footballers often feel comfortable with and with which you feel like you are not advancing and well, it was a mixture of all of them."
Despite his deadline day move, the Spanish international has only played a single minute of football under Jose Mourinho since his arrival although it's believed that is finally about to change.
He is, however, set to be handed his first start for AS Roma tonight as the Serie A side look to start their Europa League Round of 16 tie against Real Sociedad on the right foot.
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Llorente has been slightly helped by the fact that regular starter Roger Ibanez is suspended for the clash, while his partner Marash Kumbulla's recent form has taken a turn for the worst.
However, the opportunity could be exactly what the 29-year-old needs to get his career back on track and cement himself as a vital piece of Roma defence - something he did for so many years at Elland Road.
Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb (via SportWitness ) claims that 'It will be an important opportunity (for Llorente) to start climbing the hierarchies' with him being the current fifth-choice for Mourinho.
The report continues to say that, for Llorente, Mourinho's typical loan policy doesn't apply since he's looking for a more permanent stay in Italy with the buy option attached in his contract.
Whether the Spaniard can finally establish himself away from Elland Road is unclear but he'll certainly be in the running for more consistent minutes if he puts in a good performance against Sociedad tomorrow.
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