Sky Sports pundit Ali Maxwell has been left raving over Leeds United’s capture of Kiko Casilla by stating that he is a huge upgrade on weak link Bailey Peacock-Farrell at Elland Road.
The Spanish shot stopper arrived from La Liga giants Real Madrid earlier this month to compete with Peacock-Farrell between the sticks with Marcelo Bielsa having seen Jamal Blackman, the Chelsea loanee who was acting as second choice, ruled out for the season through injury.
Maxwell, of the Not The Top 20 podcast, was on Sky Sports as one of their English Football League experts on deadline day and in rating the top five deals of the EFL, he raved over Casilla’s capture, saying: “The Leeds goalkeeper, they signed him from Real Madrid, he comes with real pedigree.
“What he’s brought so far – we reckon there was one weak spot to this Leeds squad and it was the goalkeeper position. He looks to be filling that gap.
“He was very dominant against Rotherham, he made a fantastic save and he was very good at dealing with aerial balls as well, so an upgrade we think.”
Opinion
The Sky Sports pundit has hit the nail on the head – although calling Peacock-Farrell the only weak point in this Leeds side might be a little harsh. Casilla is a quality goalkeeper and getting his signing over the line was a huge coup, not to mention a massive upgrade between the sticks, but the young English keeper had performed admirably as the number one this season. He was after all the goalkeeper in a table topping Leeds side and while he might have come under fire for some errors he has shown the ability to be a top Championship option. His age means he has got plenty of room to develop and grow and he likely has nearly 20 years left under his belt to perform as a first choice option at Elland Road or elsewhere. Casilla’s arrival will only help his career as he learns under the experienced Spaniard.