Ironically on the same day that Kiko Casilla's charge was announced by the FA he was also nominated for the Championship PFA Fans Player of the Month Award for October. With 18 saves and 3 clean sheets in the month Casilla is answering a lot of his critics.
It’s fair to say that Casilla had a lot to live up when he signed from Real Madrid in January, it is not often that a Championship club pulls off the signing of a three-time Champions League winner. But last season did not end so well for the Spanish keeper. Casilla is clearly a marvellous stopper, but he ensured that Leeds fans finger nails were bitten down on several occasions. His tendency to come rushing out of his goal whenever the ball goes into his box leaves Leeds fans with their hearts in their mouths. The confusion between Liam Cooper and Casilla which saw Derby equalise in the play-off semi-final lead to confidence between the defence and keeper being lost and a crazy 45 minutes of football which ultimately saw Leeds United lose their chance of promotion.
This summer there were question marks over his future at Leeds, and at £35k a week was he too much of a gamble for the club? But Casilla made his intention to stay clear and with the departure of Bailey Peacock-Farrell to Burnley his position as the man between the sticks for Leeds United was secured. Casilla did not want to be defined by the Derby game and his performances so far this season mean that he has already put that game behind him. It’s always going to take a goalkeeper longer to adjust to a new league, especially one as physical as the Championship but Casilla seems to be adjusting well now.
Casilla certiainly looks like a keeper reborn, his performances have been magnificent and one of the main reasons Leeds have such a good defensive record so far this season. But with the FA charge for racially abusing Charlton Athletic's Jonathan Leko during the Championship game between the clubs in September hanging over him it could be a short lived reprieval. Casilla strenuously denies the charges but a guilty verdict could lead to a 12 game ban and a question mark over his future at Leeds.
Also nominated for the Championship PFA Fans Player of the Month Award for October are Preston's Tom Barkhuizen, Brentford's Said Benrahma, Millwall's Tom Bradshaw, QPR's Eberechi Eze and Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic. The award is decided by football fans across the globe, voting is open until 8am on 6th November.
You can place your vote by clicking here!
