So it looks like I’ve lost the battle, but hopefully not the war.
After weeks of campaigning for Bailey Peacock-Farrell to be kept, Kiko Casilla to be sold and a more experienced keeper to be brought in as the third choice, I must finally concede defeat on the first two points. Peacock-Farrell looks set to depart for Burnley, with the two clubs reportedly reaching a fee last night of £3.5m.
So what does this mean now? How does the hierarchy look, and what needs to be done to fix it?
With Peacock-Farrell’s seemingly imminent departure, Leeds are now left with two ‘senior’ goalkeepers on their books, Kiko Casilla and Will Huffer. Marcelo Bielsa reportedly likes to carry a thin squad, shown by his refusal to sign another centre-back this summer, but I still think the club needs a third, more experienced goalkeeper just to act as a safety net.
We saw towards the end of last year that Casilla was susceptible to a few catastrophic errors, most notably against Sheffield United and Derby County, so unless he cuts those out of his game, he could find himself warming the bench. That then leaves Will Huffer as the next man up on the list, and he has only had one Championship appearance before. Whilst everyone has to get experience sometime, what happens if Bielsa doesn’t think he’s quite ready yet?
If you want someone to act as a sort of intermediary between the two, then an established veteran third choice is the best way to go. There are enough goalkeepers out there for you to choose from, but I’d personally go for an Ali Al-Habsi or Boaz Myhill. A goalkeeper with Championship experience and a decent clean sheet record. Ideally you don’t want to go to him, but it’s nice to have them as an option just in case the worst comes to the worst.
Given Bielsa’s policy on squad size, it’s probably unlikely he’ll make the move, but I’ve disagreed with a lot of his policies before and I’m probably not going to stop anytime soon, I’m just that kind of guy. But if Leeds find themselves scrambling around for another goalkeeper because Casilla couldn’t keep his hands to himself, then don’t say I didn’t warn you.