da marjack bet： Leeds United supporters have been pretty quiet in recent times after seeing their side suffer a damaging defeat in their final Championship match before the current international break.
da fezbet： Marcelo Bielsa’s men went into their encounter with fellow high-flyers West Brom sat at the summit of the division having won eight of their opening 16 matches, and thus full of confidence ahead of their trip to the Hawthorns. Yet the Yorkshire giants were swept aside by the Baggies as goals from Hal Robson-Kanu, Matt Phillips, Harvey Barnes, and Dwight Gayle inspired the hosts to a 4-1 victory, thus instigating Leeds’ fall to third place in the table.
As such, there have been many disappointed Leeds fans up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have been taking to Twitter recently to throw their weight behind a possible club move for goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who has been linked with a move to Elland Road.
And with some uncertainty in the goalkeeping ranks at the Yorkshire outfit, those Leeds fans are spot on to call for his arrival, what with the £3.6 million-rated star (as per Transfermarkt) potentially the missing piece in Bielsa’s promotion jigsaw.
Ultimately, Leeds have made a wonderful start to the new season to very much put themselves into promotion contention, with new manager Bielsa bringing the very best out of his squad in the early phase of the campaign.
However, while things look reasonably settled outfield, there are some question marks about the capabilities of those in the goalkeeping department, even more so following the recent injury to shot-stopper Jamal Blackman, who has since returned to parent club Chelsea for treatment.
As such, Bielsa has been left with 22-year-old Bailey Peacock-Farrell as his only senior goalkeeper, and while the young Englishman has on the whole done well between the sticks, there have been a few nervy moments in recent times, not least against the Baggies last time out, to call into question his capabilities over the course of the long, hard slog that is a Championship season.
Thus, it’s likely that Bielsa will be in the market for a goalkeeper come the New Year, and Burnley’s Heaton is one that would finally end any concerns regarding the number one position.
The 32-year-old has proven to be an outstanding goalkeeper in recent years for the Clarets, helping them twice win promotion from the Championship, before doing his utmost to keep them in the Premier League in the 2016/17 season.
In fact, a string of fine saves and match-winning performances that season as they finished 16th in the top-flight raised Heaton’s stock ten-fold, with the Englishman twice playing for his country in 2016, before adding a third and so far final appearance for Gareth Southgate’s men a year later – at the time, he was one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.
Yes, injuries have since taken their toll on the shot-stopper and he has been unable to reclaim his place in Sean Dyche’s team, mainly as a result of the brilliance of Nick Pope and Joe Hart, but that should detract from what an excellent and reliable goalkeeper Heaton is – the sort of goalkeeper Leeds need in a promotion push.
And while Peacock-Farrell clearly has a bright future ahead of him, Heaton appears to be the answer for the present in Leeds’ push for a Premier League return – his arrival would give Bielsa the final piece in his promotion jigsaw.
Leeds fans… what do you think? Let us know!