Darlow exit ignites Lucas Perri debate as Zion Suzuki on list of Leeds interests
That will only hike prices. And with Sassuolo defender Tarik Muharemovic looking set to arrive for a bulky £34million, a considerable portion of the transfer budget will shortly be gone.
While club figures are naturally resistant to disclose what size of purse they have for this summer, it is thought to be similar to last year when £100m was spent. The difference this time is that new Squad Cost Ratio finance rules leave Leeds with marginally tighter limits.
As such, Leeds have made no bones about the fact that they will need to sell to create enough head space to fill all the holes they need to. Pascal Struijk’s £18m exit to Brighton & Hove Albion is the only sale so far, but more are expected to follow.
All that said, goalkeeper now has to be the priority position for the Whites, and thus existing funds will be ringfenced for the purpose of finding a new option. As things stand, Lucas Perri is the number one with newly-contracted Alex Cairns, only due to be a reserve option, second choice.
Leeds being a Premier League club immediately means rivals raise the asking price for a player, but the current lack of departmental depth at Elland Road means counterparts can hold out for an inflated fee, given how brazenly evident it is that United need a goalkeeper.
Darlow was offered a new deal, but could not be guaranteed the number one spot, and so insiders understand the reasons why he has chosen to take up a big payday, even if it is at the old enemy in Manchester.
As with Struijk’s, the goalkeeper’s exit - albeit as a free agent - gives Leeds clarity on what now needs to happen and the club could, and probably will, be better off for it in the long run. That is, unless they gamble with Perri as being the permanent number one again.
That is the next call for the boardroom to make. Do they decide to give Perri, who was dropped due to poor performance levels in January, another crack in the hope of a revival? Do they ask him to be satisfied with second fiddle? Or do they look for an early exit?
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Yet if he is to leave, Leeds would then need to search for a back-up to a new number one. Should, as many expect, United indeed look for a new primary goalkeeper regardless of Perri staying or not, then there is every chance they upgrade on Darlow.
The Wales no.1 - who has surely now jeopardised this status by agreeing to limited game time at Old Trafford - was very decent for Leeds not just this season but during the Championship run-in period too. Yet the 35-year-old is hardly irreplaceable.
Newcastle United-linked Zion Suzuki, of Japan and Parma, is one of a list of options Leeds admire, while most Premier League clubs will be interested in James Trafford, who is destined to leave Manchester City in some capacity this summer.
SC Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek has also come across the club’s radar without any further action as yet, while speculation linking Aaron Ramsdale appears baseless as things stand. A formal move for any of the above has yet to take place.
Leeds will have their options and will be working towards their preferred pick, which could be one that might not yet have come to light.
One goalkeeper question - namely Darlow’s future - has been answered, which helps. But many more remain and with Leeds set to jet off to the US on tour on Tuesday, the club will be conscious of losing bedding-in time ahead of the new season.
There are still many weeks left before the season begins and the market is expected to accelerate from next week once the World Cup has concluded and other players start to return from their holidays.
With goalkeeper such a crucial and isolationist position, Leeds must make tracks in good time. But the paramount aim - with this set to be the fourth change in number one in two years - is to make sure this time, the club gets it right.
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