MOT View: Exciting Leeds prospect can help Bielsa forget about reported January disappointment
Leeds United moved to snap up young goalkeeping prospect Elia Caprile in the January market.
But according to Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, the he may not have been the Whites’ first choice target.
The Scandinavian outlet suggests that Marcelo Bielsa’s men were keen on Vålerenga stopper, Kristoffer Klaesson.
A report from the print edition of the publication suggests that Leeds held a “strong interest” in the 19-year-old, but were thwarted when his current employers refused to sell.
But have Leeds missed out on a gem by failing to land the young Norwegian.
The stats would actually suggest that signing Caprile instead could be a blessing in disguise.
The Italian averages 1.16 more saves per game that Klaesson, as well as having a save reflex rate that is 3.5% higher, as per Wyscout.
He also makes more short passes per game and has a higher long pass completion rate.
And those attributes could certainly make him a big hit at Elland Road.
We all know how highly Bielsa values a keeper who can play out from the back, as has been proven by Kiko Casilla’s pass completion rate of 97.6% this season.
But as the pass map above proves, Caprile has good range too.
Taken from a youth match against Juventus earlier this season, it illustrates a player who doesn’t just clear his lines, but looks to get his side moving in the right direction too.
But Caprile is also a top shot stopper.
The graphic above shows each of the saves that he made against Sampdoria last January, but it’s number one that really catches the eye.
That shot alone had an xG of 0.7, meaning that it would have gone in over 7/10 of the time.
And looking at it, it’s easy to see why.
As the ball comes in, the Sampdoria attacker is able to meet the delivery with pace and power from point blank range.
There is no way that you would back Caprile to save this.
It’s not central, it’s well-directed, and there’s no defender to put the forward off.
Somehow, however, he manages to readjust his feet and show the reflexes required to get a hand to it.
Not only that but his arm is strong and his gets good distance on the parry.
It’s genuinely world class, no exaggeration.
And if the youngster can show that kind of form during his spell at Elland Road, it’s certain that nobody will even begin to regret missing out on Klaesson a few months ago.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Fantastic’ – Heckingbottom shares what people at Thorp Arch have told him about Leeds players.