Leeds United linked with veteran goalkeeper Kieren Westwood

The silly season is starting to heat up again.

Leeds United brought in a number of players during last year’s summer transfer window, and this year looks to be no different, with the club failing to live up to expectations. The club sacked head coach Thomas Christiansen back in February, but the results have actually gotten worse under new coach, former Barnsley FC manager Paul Heckingbottom.

One of the biggest transfer mistakes last summer had to do with the goalkeeper position. Experienced veteran Rob Green was brought in the summer before to be the number one and he had a brilliant year for Leeds during the 2016-17 season. However, with the team looking to play a different style of football, Felix Wiedwald was brought in from Werder Bremen. And he was good, well, at least for awhile.

At the start of January, Wiedwald had registered 10 clean sheets and was back to looking reliable after being benched earlier in the season. Andy Lonergan hadn’t really impressed during his stint as the starting keeper either, and it looked like Leeds could once again count on Wiedwald to be the starter.

However, much like the first stint as the starting goalkeeper, Wiedwald once again lost his form and was benched in favour of 21 year-old Northern Ireland U21 international Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Peacock-Farrell has been brilliant since coming in for Wiedwald. He’s been of the few bright spots of the season over the past three months, and he even had a clean sheet on his debut for Northern Ireland U21s. If anything, he’s done enough to be considered the favourite to be the starting keeper next year, regardless of who is brought in.

Now, however, Leeds have been linked with current Sheffield Wednesday keeper Kieren Westwood, with both Southampton and Celtic FC also rumoured to be interested in the keeper. The 33 year-old keeper is currently out injured, and with a predicted exodus from Wednesday due to financial reasons, the veteran might be on the move.

This move would be a mistake, as Bailey Peacock-Farrell has proven himself to be a good keeper so far this season. A veteran might be needed to back him up, but a player like Westwood will require a higher wage, and that’s money that could be used to bolster the squad in other places. If Leeds do sign Westwood, it’s a clear sign that they aren’t sure that Peacock-Farrell can be the starter next season, and there is no reason to doubt him right now.