Leeds United reportedly held internal discussions in January over whether to sign a new second-choice goalkeeper following Kristoffer Klaesson’s disappointing development.
According to the Athletic, talks were held at the club over the winter transfer window over whether to replace the 21-year-old goalkeeper, who only signed for Leeds seven months ago in July of last year.
As per the report, Victor Orta worked hard to bring in Klaesson from Valerenga last summer, though the shot-stopper is yet to play a first-team minute with Illan Meslier playing every single second for Leeds in all competitions this season.
Klaesson’s playing time for Leeds has come from PL2 and U-23 football, though as per the Athletic, performances have been mixed from the Norway youth international, with the youngster conceding 42 goals in 17 matches.
This is why the Yorkshire side were tempted to dip into the market for a new second-choice keeper. However, Klaesson is now showing signs of settling with Leeds, and his latest performance for the U-23s saw the Whites keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win against Liverpool.
Indeed, these promising signs are what ultimately stopped Leeds from signing a backup for Meslier, who has fully established himself as one of the club’s most important players and a key member of the future of the team.
Leeds were right to keep Klaesson as second-choice keeper in January
Klaesson’s time at Leeds has, predictably, been a slow burner, as is the nature of how Marcelo Bielsa rotates the squad. Yet overall, the Premier League side were right to keep the 21-year-old as the club’s second-choice goalkeeper.
After all, Meslier is showing next-to-now signs of slowing down as the club’s number one, and for Klaesson, this season is all about getting to grips with the English game and learning the Leeds style of football before playing senior minutes next campaign.
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