Paul Robinson expects Leeds United to sign new goalkeeper after Elia Caprile loan exit
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Paul Robinson expects Leeds United to sign another new goalkeeper after they agreed to send Elia Caprile out on loan.
Caprile, 19, was Marcelo Bielsa’s third-choice goalkeeper last season and was set to be in the upcoming campaign as well until he was loaned out to Serie C club Pro Patria last week.
Bielsa now has Illan Meslier as his number one and Kristoffer Klaesson as his second-choice goalkeeper with Dani van den Heuvel potentially being third in the pecking order.
Meslier is 21, Klaesson is 20 and van den Heuvel is 18 so there’s hardly any experience among that crop of shot-stoppers.
Robinson played 113 times in goals for Leeds in his career and he now sees a chance for Bielsa and Victor Orta to sign a more experienced head to join the goalkeeping department at Elland Road.
Speaking to MOT Leeds News, Robbo said: “I’ve said for a long time now that they need to strengthen that area.
“Klaesson is a good goalkeeper for the future but with Caprile going out on loan, there’s an opportunity there to bring more experience in and give the manager a chance to make a change if Meslier doesn’t perform or get injured without taking the risk of playing a young lad.
“There’s no doubt [Klaesson] has got a lot of ability and he will be a good goalkeeper but if we’re halfway through the season and he has to make his debut after an hour, it’s a difficult thing to do.
“That does give Leeds an opportunity to bring an older and more experienced goalkeeper in. Not just for the team but to also have him around and work with the younger goalkeepers every day. It will bring them onto another level.
“They’ve obviously got a coach but if you work with an older and more experienced goalkeeper who’s played at the top level every day, there’s a lot you can learn from it as a youngster.”
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have made an approach to sign this English forward whose value is soaring.