Leeds complete first signing of transfer window

21 Jan 2020 08:20 pm, by YorkshireSquare


Last night Leeds United completed their first transfer of the January window. Was it that prolific goal scorer we have all been crying out for? No, it was an eighteen-year-old goalkeeper. Elia Caprile has been training with Leeds for the past few days and completed his permanent transfer from Chievo Verona on Monday. The young keeper is a product of Chievo’s youth system, playing for the Under 17s side before stepping up to the reserve ‘Primavera’ side. He is a highly rated prospect who has already represented Italy at Under-18 level. Caprile has yet to make a senior appearance though has been named as an unused substitute by Chievo Verona in both Serie A and Serie B as well as the Coppa Italia.

With a potential ban up ahead for Kiko Casilla, Leeds had been rumoured to be looking for a first team keeper this January. But Illan Meslier’s impressive performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup put any concerns at rest and he is likely to step in should the Spaniard be banned. This has allowed Leeds to bring in Caprile as a prospect for the future rather than having to find a temporary solution to their issues. Caprile is likely to link up with Carlos Corberan's Under 23s initially but may be called upon to deputise for Meslier should he be handed the gloves for the first team.

What the move means for Leeds United's other young keepers is not yet clear. Will Huffer got the nod last season and played once in the Championship covering for Bailey Peacock-Farrell whilst Kamil Miazek has been an unused sub several times this season. Huffer could now find himself fourth in line and at 21 years old it could mean that a move away for Elland Road may be best if he is to get his career going.



Andre Gray, Will Leeds manage to bring in a striker this window


Leeds fans will be hopeful that this is just the first of a few deals completed by the club this month. The most likely seems to be Manchester City winger Ian Carlo Poveda who has met with Leeds United to discuss a move. Nineteen-year-old Poveda had spells with Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea before joining City from Brentford in 2016, he has only managed to make one first team appearance for the club and with serios competition for places in the City first team a move would be a good career choice. Leeds do face competition from overseas though with interest from Torino but the Yorkshire club seem confident they are the leading the way.

The most important deal to be done remains a replacement for Eddie Nketiah. With Leeds poor conversion rate and lack of choice up front a striker is vital for a promotion push. Che Adams, Billy Sharp, Dwight Gayle, Jarrod Bowen, Andre Gray and Britt Assombalonga have all been mentioned but Leeds seem to be struggling to prise forwards away from their current clubs. The fate of Leeds United’s season could all depend on who puts pen to paper over the next few days.