According to Sun reporter Alan Nixon on his personal Twitter feed (below), Leeds United are going to have to keep a wary eye out for Burnley interest in rated young stopper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
BURNLEY. Keeping an eye on Peacock-Farrell at LEEDS in case lose one or two keepers. Still want around 10m from VILLA for Heaton who could yet sign a deal to stay.
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) July 21, 2019
The Leeds United youngster, who came up through the youth ranks at Elland Road after signing as a junior from Middlesbrough, has fallen back to the club’s #2 after the arrival of former Real Madrid stopper Kiko Casilla.
Peacock-Farrell started Leeds United’s 2018/19 Sky Bet Championship campaign as the club’s #1 goalkeeper, featuring in 28 games before the arrival of Casilla. Across that half-season of appearances, the 22-year-old Northern Ireland international conceded 32 goals, whilst keeping 10 clean sheets.
That production formed the bulk of his output at Leeds United, with the young stopper having featured in 41 games for the Whites with 53 goals conceded and 11 clean sheets kept in total. However, the arrival of Casilla meant that the Darlington-born youngster was demoted to second-choice at the club.
He has gone on record, whilst on international duty with Northern Ireland, musing about the fact that he might need to leave Elland Road to seek first-team action if staying at the Whites meant he’d be a bench player.
Reading into Nixon’s tweet of Burnley’s sniffing around interest, this looks likely to only firm up into a definite approach if the Clarets lose some of their keepers. Tom Heaton, who won his place back last season, is wanted by newly promoted Aston Villa and Nixon says that Burnley is looking at a fee of £10million to make that happen.
Leeds United are said to be looking at goalkeeping options themselves, with a specific interest in Newcastle stopper Kar Darlow being mentioned in some sources. A lot of this is said to depend on whether Kiko Casilla, who is on a hefty wage at the West Yorkshire club, moves on. It would be inconceivable that Darlow would drop down to be a second-string keeper.
Whatever options Leeds United look for in the most lonely position on the field, it appears that they’ll need to keep Burnley’s interest in Bailey Peacock-Farrell in mind.
