The Leeds United stopper cannot be allowed to waste next season with the under-23s.
As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s loan move to Oldham Athletic has fallen through at the eleventh hour, and Leeds United need to act fast to ensure that disappointment does not fester all season.
The 20-year-old spent a week training with the League One side ahead of a proposed year-long loan move but, in a worrying twist, Oldham manager John Sheridan opted not to go ahead with the deal and will now pursue alternatives.
It remains unclear exactly why the decision was made, yet it is sure to knock the confidence of the youngster after he had believed his short-term future was set, with the prospect of finally playing regular first-team football.
The Leeds ‘keeper is highly rated at Elland Road and recently put pen to paper on a new deal, with the proposed temporary stint at Oldham expected to give him the exposure and experience he needs at this stage of his career.
Instead he is now heading back to Leeds while his teammates continue their pre-season tour of Austria, and Whites boss Thomas Christiansen must act fast to ensure the setback is no more damaging than it has to be.
With three senior ‘keepers on Leeds’ books in the form of Robert Green, Felix Wiedwald and Marco Silvestri, the chance of Peacock-Farrell breaking through next season is slim at best.
A loan move is the right answer, and if Oldham do not want him, Christiansen needs to find someone who does in the next few weeks.
The alternative, with the youngster left to play under-23 football while he is left to rue what might have been, will not help anyone.
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