Leeds United have made a good start to the Championship season defensively, keeping three clean sheets in their four games.
The Whites conceded three goals in a 3-3 draw with Portsmouth at Elland Road on the opening day, but this was followed by eliminations against West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City.
Despite his defensive success, Illan Meslier still conceded 0.76 more goals than expected, according to xG against him, after conceding 4.49 more than expected in the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
Leeds once had a player who could upgrade the Frenchman between the sticks, Elia Caprile, but former boss Jesse Marsch messed up by letting him go.
Elia Caprila’s Leeds career
The Whites signed the Chievo U19 youngster in January 2020, adding him to their academy first.
Caprile made 19 appearances for Leeds at U21 level over the next 18 months, conceding 26 goals in total and being on the bench in the Championship and Premier League.
The Italy youth international then spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Pro Patria, catching the eye with 12 clean sheets in 36 Serie C appearances.
That form wasn’t good enough to convince Marsch, who was in charge at the time, that Caprile was good enough to be a first-team option at Leeds, with the American manager selling him to Bari for just £1.40 in the summer of ’20 million pounds. 2022.
The rising market value of Elia Caprila
The former Whites boss was wrong in that decision as the towering striker, described as a “superstar” by scout Jacek Kulig, has grown in stature since his move from Elland Road.
Caprile made 37 appearances and saved an incredible 77% of shots on goal in 37 games for Bari in Serie B in his first season with the club, convincing Napoli to sign him in 2023 for £6m.
It shows that one of the biggest clubs in Italy decided he was good enough to play for them just 12 months after he left Yorkshire, which was also the same summer Leeds were relegated from the Premier League, and they then sent him out. loaned to Empoli in Serie A.
Caprile’s outstanding performances in Serie A for Empoli have contributed to his incredibly high market value, which currently stands at €15.1m (£12.7m) on FootballTransfers.
Surprisingly, his value is higher than 19 of Leeds’ current 24 first-team players, with only Meslier (€16.8m), Max Wober (€16.4m), Ethan Ampadu (€18.5m) , Brenden Aaronson (20.7 million euros). ), and before him Wilfried Gnonto (21.4 million euros).
Marsch messed up by allowing him to join Bari in the summer of 2022 as the Whites were missing a hugely talented goalkeeper who could be a potential upgrade to Meslier between the sticks.