Should Leeds United sign Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy?
Felix Wiedwald returned to Leeds United’s first XI last week, displacing Andy Lonergan after the German previously endured a bit of a nightmare first couple of months in West Yorkshire.
The former Werder Bremen man did very little wrong at Oakwell on Saturday, but you will struggle to find a Leeds fan who is completely happy with the club’s current options between the posts.
Strengthening that position should be a priority for Director of Football Victor Orta and should the Spaniard consider a Premier League stopper who barely played during his last spell at Elland Road?
Alex McCarthy managed six Championship appearances during a loan spell at United from Reading in the 2011-12 campaign and his top-flight woes suggest he might consider a return to the second tier.
It’s been 18 months since the 27-year-old joined Southampton but he is yet to make a single Premier League appearance for the Saints, and hasn’t even been named in a Premier League matchday squad under Mauricio Pellegrino as of yet.
His only three appearances for Southampton this season have come in Checkatrade Trophy games against sides like Peterborough, Cambridge United and Northampton Town and it seems plausible that he would not turn up his nose at regular football with Leeds in the Championship.
McCarthy, valued at around £2.7 million according to Transfermarkt, won plenty of admiration from Leeds fans during his loan and if he remains as talented now as he was in 2011 then he is far and away a better option than Wiedwald or Lonergan.
For the most part, Thomas Christiansen has an excellent squad at his disposal, but if one area holds them back this season it could well be the goalkeeping situation. Reinforcement is key and McCarthy might just provide it.
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