Q&A about Newcastle’s Karl Darlow, the potential Leeds recruit at goalkeeper

To get the inside scoop on what kind of player Karl Darlow would be at Leeds United, we spoke with Bryan Nelson of Coming Home Newcastle, the SB Nation blog for everything Newcastle United.

Here are some questions and his answers about the 28 year-old keeper from someone who knows him pretty well.

How good is Darlow? And would he be content trying to win a job in the Championship?

I like Darlow, and he’s good. But he wasn’t good enough for Rafa when it came time to fight in the Premier League, which is why we have Dubravka. He’s a good championship quality keeper, and he still has a lot of room for growth. I think he just wants playing time.

Leeds might be interested in a loan move for the keeper, is that something that would suit all parties?

Not sure. A lot of people are still iffy on Freddie Woodman and question his quality as a backup for Dubravka. A loan deal would be more suitable as I’m not sure where the club and Rafa stand on the future of Darlow at Newcastle.

Can he play with the ball at his feet? How is his distribution? Can he move the ball around, or does he just hoof it up the pitch and hope for the best?

He’s no sweeper, but he’s not bad either. This will answer your next question. He makes mistakes, and that’s expected at a young age, but I question his distribution skills. He did perfectly fine in the championship, though, so I’d have no worries.

Would you be sorry to see him go? Or are you glad he might be leaving?

I’d be sorry to see a young talent leave, but it’s becoming more apparent that he won’t be premier league quality for some time. Depending on what we get for him, if like to see us start investing in youth again.