Phil Hay has been speaking on the latest edition of The Athletic’s The Phil Hay Show about all things relating to Leeds United.
One of the topics that he spent some time on was a new goalkeeper for the Whites in the summer.
Kiko Casilla has been linked with a move away from Elland Road, but Hay thinks it will be difficult to bring in a new goalkeeper because of Illan Meslier’s presence.
He said: (17:14) “It’s very difficult, isn’t it? I mean, they were interested in Martinez, who went to Villa from Arsenal last year.
“I think the point about him is that if you’ve been saying to him, the likelihood is you’re going to be behind Meslier, who’s 21 I think Martinez would have said ‘well, you know what, I’ll go somewhere else’ because he’s [a] quality keeper in his own right and too good really to be sat on the bench.
“So it would be difficult, but I think again, you would probably be able to sell yourself to good quality keepers by saying ‘come in and compete.’
(18:11) “There is the scope to play, but I think what they have to do is to make sure that whoever comes in, if they do move Casilla on, is Premier League standard so that you’ve got two goalkeepers that you can rely on any day of the week.”
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TIF Thoughts on Leeds’ goalkeeping situation…
Last season Casilla played pretty much every league game for the Whites until he was banned for eight games.
In his place, Meslier stepped in, and Bielsa hasn’t changed it since, with the Frenchman missing just one league game this season because of illness.
So, if the Whites were to bring in a new goalkeeper, he might have to be prepared to wait patiently, but if he got his chance, maybe he would find himself in the side from then on, judging by what has happened in the past.
However, we are not sure what will happen in the summer as Casilla’s contract doesn’t expire until the summer of 2023, and Leeds might not be able to move him on, which you would think could cause problems.
In other news: ‘He’s a player I would go for’ – Phil Hay tells Leeds to sign ‘extremely talented’ 25-year-old