The search for a new goalkeeper continues at Leeds United with Illan Meslier expected to leave and Karl Darlow also set to join him, or remain at Elland Road as back-up goalkeeper.
Phil Hay believes Meslier will leave Leeds, six years after initially joining the club on loan from Lorient in 2019 and then signing permanently in 2020. Meslier’s contract is set to expire at the end of next season.
There is every chance that Darlow may leave Leeds, too. With the 2026 World Cup incoming, Darlow may choose to leave Leeds in order to get the game time required to ensure he starts for Wales next summer.
If Darlow or Meslier leave, or if both leave – and perhaps, even if both remain – Leeds need a goalkeeper. So, The Whites need to enter the race to sign PSV Eindhoven’s Walter Benitez, who is available on a free.
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Leeds can go one better than Everton and Crystal Palace
PSV have already signed a replacement for 32-year-old Argentine goalkeeper Benitez, with his contract expiring. Benitez will leave PSV on a free, and Alan Nixon says Everton and Palace are in talks to sign him.
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But both clubs want Benitez as a back-up goalkeeper, behind England internationals Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson. There is no doubt the one-time Argentina stopper is worthy of a Premier League club.
If Leeds need a goalkeeper, they should look no further and take advantage of Everton and Palace unable to offer him a no.1 role and lure Benitez to Elland Road, with the promise that he would start for Leeds.
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Walter Benitez’s impressive career in numbers after PSV exit
Having made his name in Argentina with Quilmes, Benitez has starred since his move to Europe. A move to Nice came first in France, clocking up 55 clean sheets in 188 games for the French side before PSV.
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Then, a move to PSV came in the summer of 2022. A total of 134 appearances in three years have come, clocking up 43 clean sheets and conceding 152 goals in a side that are fully focused on scoring goals.
A two-time Dutch champion and a Cup winner, he is up there with the best free agents on the market and given Leeds and Daniel Farke can offer Benitez what Everton and Palace can’t, they should enter talks.