Leeds United are reportedly set to sign Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood on a free transfer.
Leeds appear to be on the verge of a huge January coup. The Daily Mirror (11/12; page 53) reports that the Whites are set to sign Keiren Westwood on a free transfer next month.
Addressing the goalkeeper situation has to be a priority for Marcelo Bielsa. Bailey Peacock-Farrell has been impressive since returning to the side, and was the hero during the recent 1-0 win over Reading as he saved a late penalty.
But it would potentially be a risk to leave Will Huffer as Peacock-Farrell’s understudy for the rest of the campaign. The latter’s form did dip just before Jamal Blackman sustained the injury that ended his season, and Leeds know all too well how dangerous it can be to hedge your bets that a player will avoid injury.
Westwood looks set to be the man to fill the void if reports are correct. And if he does indeed arrive, then Leeds’ recruitment department need to take enormous credit.
Unfortunately for the 34-year-old, he has barely featured for Sheffield Wednesday in recent times. In fact, he has now not played for the first-team in more than a year.
Nevertheless, it was also not too long ago that Westwood was considered one of the best goalkeepers at Championship level. He was superb during the campaign when the Owls came within one goal of promotion to the Premier League.
It could have been an awkward task for Leeds to land a goalkeeper. Peacock-Farrell is currently the number one, but is still not the finished article, so Bielsa needed a stopper who will be willing to probably spend most of their time as an understudy but also be good enough to establish himself as first-choice if Peacock-Farrell’s form dips again.
But Westwood may well tick all boxes for Leeds. And on a free transfer, this could prove to be as smart a deal as the one that saw Rob Green arrive in 2016.
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