‘Wasn’t pretty’ – Phil Hay believes Bielsa must ditch one big-money Leeds player this summer
Kiko Casilla made all the headlines for Leeds United this season, in the wrong way.
Accused of racially abusing Charlton’s Jonathan Leko back in September, he was subsequently found guilty and banned for eight games.
Now, Atheltic journalist Phil Hay believes that it’s time for Marcelo Bielsa to show him the door.
In a piece summing up the 19/20 season, Hay cited Casilla as the one player who needs to leave the club this summer.
Writing in The Athletic, Hay said, “It would seem to be in the best interests of everyone.
“The racism case wasn’t pretty and there has been no contrition shown by anyone.
“Meslier looks like a more-than-able deputy — every bit as reliable, in fact — and on top of that, Casilla is the club’s highest-earning player.
“In fairness to him, he might not want to stay either. For as long as he remains in England, the Jonathan Leko case will be very hard to shake off.”
Casilla must go
We agree with Hay completely here. We set out our stall in an article yesterday and believe that this is an issue Leeds need to address sooner rather than later.
We see it as the one blip in a season that was otherwise flawless for Leeds – in terms of things under their control, at least.
But forgetting the real reason why Casilla should leave for a minute, last season’s number one was never the brilliant keeper that Leeds need in the Premier League anyway.
Always capable of a big mistake, Casilla’s decision-making is suspect and he made some huge blunders, one of which led to Leeds crashing out of the play-offs last season.
But Hay has written about the real reason Casilla should leave – whether it’s on his own volition or a decision by the club.
If it is a decision but the club you feel it will be made by Bielsa.
One issue is that his wages are sky-high and it could be hard to find a club willing to take him on at a similar level.
Letting him leave on a free or for a small fee would help here and it’s a sacrifice that Leeds probably need to make.
In other Leeds United news, Radrizzani confirms when Leeds will expand Elland Road with 50,000 capacity planned