Leeds United podcaster Phil Miles has been sharing his thoughts on Whites goalkeeper Kiko Casilla and his potential exit from the Yorkshire club.
This comes after Miles recently made an appearance on the latest video from the All Leeds TV YouTube channel where he spoke about a range of subjects concerning Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
On the subject of Casilla and a potential summer exit for the Spaniard, Miles had this to say on the matter. (1.07.39)
He said: “I was always frustrated that it wasn’t done last summer [Casilla’s exit]. I was frustrated that he didn’t go last summer and, to be honest from the whispers that you hear out of the club is that Marcelo Bielsa doesn’t actually want him to go.
“I think Bielsa kind of likes him, sees him as a senior figure, likes having him around, thinks he’s a good influence but you know I always thought at the time like what must Tyler Roberts and Kalvin Phillips think of what he’s got proven to have done.
“Even the performances on the pitch as well, you got to a stage where [Liam] Cooper just wouldn’t pass back to him and crosses, he’d just come for every cross and it’d go over his head and as fans, we watched the game we were like, why is nobody seeing this, and it got to the point where the players were seeing it and we could see it in their body language that they could see it.”
Leeds signed Casilla back in the 2019 January window from Spanish side Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Since then, the 34-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.35 million, has made 60 appearances for Leeds in which he has managed to concede 60 goals and keep 22 clean sheets in the process (per Transfermarkt).
As Miles mentioned in the video, in February 2020, Casilla was banned for eight games and fined £60k after being found guilty of racially abusing Charlton Athletic forward Jonathan Leko.
TIF Thoughts on Phil Miles’ comments on Casilla…
Given how Casilla has only played one Premier League game for Leeds so far this season and failed to keep a clean sheet in it, perhaps now would be the best time for the club to start thinking about moving him on during the upcoming summer transfer window.
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Also, despite him not being much of a presence for Leeds in the Premier League, the Spaniard also managed to concede three goals during their FA Cup defeat against Crawley Town back in January, so in our view, the club should look to move him on and sign a replacement this summer.