It was another difficult afternoon for Marcelo Bielsa on Saturday.
His Leeds side were defeated 2-0 by Nottingham Forest, meaning they have now lost six of their last 11 games in all competitions. After looking like they could be well on their way to promotion to the Premier League just a few weeks ago, they are currently level on points with Fulham in third place.
Virtually impossible: Can you name the year all of these Leeds flops arrived at Elland Road?
There were several disappointing performances against Forest, one of which came from goalkeeper Kiko Casilla. The 33-year-old was signed from Real Madrid last year, but this was not the performance of a player who has played at such a level.
He did make four saves, but he made a huge error for one of the goals – as the Whites continue to struggle, this is the last thing Bielsa needs. It is also a bit of a trend for the shot-stopper who stands at 6 foot 3 in – he has an average WhoScored rating of just 6.69 in the Championship so far this term, and has a save percentage ratio of just 69%. That puts him at number 10 amongst all the number ones in the division, which is not enough for a side that currently lies second.
The January transfer window has now been and gone, and that means that the club’s hierarchy will be looking ahead to the summer to see who should be brought in. According to En Cancha, Bielsa is a big fan of Claudio Bravo and could make a move for him in a few months.
You can fully understand why he would want to replace Casilla. Bravo, after all, is a goalkeeper who has a Champions League medal in his trophy cabinet, whilst he also has 121 caps for Chile. Whilst he may now be 36, he has still made four appearances for Manchester City in the Premier League this season. Not only that, he also familiar with the former Barcelona man, having managed him when he appeared for his country between 2007 and 2011.
All in all, Casilla is not the way forward for Leeds – he has proven that this term. Bringing in Bravo could resolve one of Bielsa’s problems – hopefully by that time, they will be a top-tier side.
Meanwhile, Leeds fans slam this man against Nottingham Forest.
