BBC journalist Adam Pope claimed today that Leeds could sign Kiko Casilla on loan in a twist on their pursuit of the Real Madrid goalkeeper.
Writing on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday morning, the Radio Leeds correspondent cited a colleague from Spain who claimed United’s capture of the 32-year-old is “almost done”.
But the source explained to Pope that the terms of the deal are still up in the air, as Real are still negotiating whether the transfer will be “a loan” and “who will pay the remainder of his wages” for the 18 months left on his contract with the club.
Latest on Kiko Casilla from a colleague in Spain: “Looks like it's almost done – just the terms of the deal not clear. I guess Madrid are sorting out the economic side – whether it's a loan, who will pay the remainder of his wages for the year and a half on his contract.” #lufc pic.twitter.com/7qrfVmFy0L
— Adam Pope (@apopey) January 15, 2019
OPINION
There appears little doubt that Casilla will be confirmed as Leeds’ first signing of the January window by the end of the week. The question now is whether he will join permanently or on loan. With 18 months remaining on his Real contract, a loan of that duration would be exceedingly long by the standards of Leeds, who tend to take player for a season or half a season. A permanent deal, in which Leeds pay the wages remaining on Casilla’s contract at the European champions, has been mooted, although that would not provide the player with the long-term contract he might be seeking. There are many different options to secure the deal, and it appears director of football Victor Orta is working through a number of different permutations as he seeks to negotiate the best possible contract for the Championship leaders. If, as has been reported, Leeds were to pay up the entirety of Casilla’s £50,000-a-week current deal, he would instantly become their best paid player. That could create issues with the current squad.