Leeds United must hope keeper search does not bring them another Felix Wiedwald

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Leeds United are said to be in the hunt for a new goalkeeper in the winter. It comes after Jamal Blackman, the club’s back-up to Bailey Peacock-Farrell, broke his leg in an under-23 game.

Plenty of names have been linked with a move to Elland Road, including Tom Heaton and Freddie Woodman.

However, the Mirror reported yesterday that the Argentine had ruled out both men as options. He has concerns over Woodman’s experience and Heaton’s ability with his feet.

Bielsa wants a player with the distribution and calmness on the ball needed to play his style of football. It makes sense and both Bailey Peacock-Farrell and current back-up Will Huffer are good with their feet. Blackman, who looked likely to get his chance after some mistakes from the Northern Ireland stopper, also shared this talent.

It is great to see that Bielsa is tailoring his keeper search to suitable tactical candidates. However, Leeds fans have heard this before and it did not end well.

Thomas Christiansen wanted a keeper with good footballing skills last season. It saw Leeds dump Robert Green and Victor Orta come back with German stopper Felix Wiedwald.

By the end of the campaign, the former Werder Bremen stopper was behind both Peacock-Farrell and Andy Lonergan in the pecking order. Whilst good with his feet, he struggled to claim crosses or handle the ball in the Championship.

Leeds are right to target a new keeper. However, they must ensure he is just as good keeping the ball out the net as he is helping Leeds put it in the other.