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In his latest Yorkshire Evening Post column, Phil Hay has suggested that he doesn’t expect Leeds United goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell to retain his starting spot beyond the weekend.
What’s the word, then?
Well, with Kiko Casilla serving a one-game suspension following his red card against Sheffield United before the international break, Peacock-Farrell looks set to fill in between the sticks for the visit of Millwall to Elland Road on Saturday.
The 22-year-old was Marcelo Bielsa’s first-choice ahead of loanee Jamal Blackman earlier in the season, but the 2019 arrival of Casilla from Real Madrid changed all of that and he hasn’t started since January.
That said, he was on the team-sheet twice for Northern Ireland during the international break, impressing for his country as they picked up two wins.
In the Yorkshire Evening Post, Hay wrote: “Peacock-Farrell has the chance to play on Saturday but not, realistically, the chance to displace a keeper whose strengths dovetail nicely with Bielsa’s strategy.”
Is he right?
He certainly is.
It is clear to see that Casilla fits the mould far more than the 22-year-old does for what Bielsa wants from his goalkeeper.
His footwork is decent and he is able to play the role of sweeper keeper – which ironically was the reason he was dismissed against the Blades – and he visibly breeds more confidence into the likes of Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper ahead of him than the Northern Irishman did previously.
While Bielsa has shown that he is willing to keep the faith with his Leeds players even in defeat, it may well be a different story even if Peacock-Farrell pulls off a blinder against the Lions – Casilla is simply too good to leave on the bench while his teammate is still learning and improving.