Oliver Casey expected to join Blackpool on a permanent deal.

Following their promotion to the Championship, Blackpool have emerged as favourites to sign centre-back Oliver Casey from Leeds on a permanent transfer. Although there is time for other interest to emerge.

Casey came through the academy at Leeds United, impressing in both the u18s and u23s often alongside Charlie Cresswell, and was rewarded with a debut as a substitute in a 2-0 away win against Huddersfield Town.

Casey’s form was rewarded with a new three-year contract in July 2020 but the arrivals of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente pushed him further away from the first team picture. In addition to these arrivals, Pascal Struijk has firmly established himself as a first team player.

Casey has been impressive for the u23s at times but in the minds of most fans I would say he has dropped behind Charlie Cresswell in the pecking order, with Nohan Kenneh’s emergence at that level also providing an obstacle with regards to first team football.

As Casey is not going to get a chance at Leeds it makes sense for him to move on. I wouldn’t expect Leeds to command a big fee, but they should negotiate a large sell-on fee in case there is a spike in the young centre-back’s development.

Angus Kinnear and Victor Orta are on the record as saying Leeds will be looking to recruit at u23 level in addition to any first team signings, so it is very likely that Casey will not be the only one to move on in the summer. In terms of the next one, purely speculation, I think this summer will see Ryan Edmondson move away permanently.