Speaking on his podcast, The Athletic journalist Phil Hay has outlined Leeds United’s stance on selling Kiko Casilla.
The Spanish goalkeeper has been something of a disaster since joining the Elland Road outfit, costing them dearly in the 2019 playoff semi-finals and on numerous other occasions in the league.
On top of his poor performances on the pitch, his character has also been called into question as he was found guilty of racially abusing a Charlton Athletic player last season.
Casilla was once again poor against Crawley last weekend, and as you can imagine, this led to a discussion about his future.
“There is without doubt a big difference between the way Casilla is perceived by the public and sections of the fanbase and sections of the media, me included, and the way he is seen at the club and Bielsa in particular,” Hay said.
“There are people at Leeds and Elland Road who can see the value of moving Casilla on, I think they realise that it’s not going to get any better, and they realise that his reputation has taken a big hit after the racism charge and the ban that he served.
“I think they realise as well that in return for the money that he earns and the cost to the club of having him in the squad, the performances and the appearances are not providing much payment in return.”
Hay then returned to this point later on in the podcast when he was discussing potential outgoings at Leeds.
“As I say, at boardroom level there are certainly people who see the merit of taking a decent offer for Casilla.”
Leeds’ higher-ups may be open to selling Casilla, but one man who doesn’t seem to be is Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentine came out in defence of the former Real Madrid man in his press conference this week, so it seems as though he still rates him.
It has to be said that Casilla is a drain on the wage bill, he reportedly earns £32,000 a week, and that’s a massive wage for a second-choice goalkeeper, especially when you’ve only just been promoted.
Casilla has had his critics for a long time, and it seems as though now some of the higher-ups at the club are losing patience with him.
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