Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has praised Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow, despite calls for him to be dropped from the upcoming game against West Ham.
With Lucas Perri nearing a return to fitness, Leeds may have a different goalkeeper between the posts when they welcome West Ham to Elland Road.
Daniel Farke has placed his faith in the current Wales number one, Karl Darlow, after his summer signing, Perri, picked up an injury.
However, Darlow received some criticism after the game against Burnley, as his poor clearance contributed to Burnley’s first goal before he was beaten from range for the second.
This has prompted some calls for Darlow to be replaced for Leeds’ next crucial Premier League game. But Carragher has now backed the veteran shot-stopper, praising one key element of his game.
Jamie Carragher prior to Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham.
Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images
Jamie Carragher praises Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow
Speaking on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports, ahead of the game between West Ham and Brentford, Carragher explained why he believes it is wrong to criticise Darlow for Burnley’s first goal.
According to Carragher, Darlow is “fantastic” with the ball at his feet and he plays an essential role in the way Leeds play out from the back.
“Darlow is fantastic on the ball. You can see him here splitting the centre-back,” Carragher said, “He’s really confident on the ball. He was almost like a centre-back before. He’s now breaking the lines there.
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“And this is what made Leeds actually play well in the game, talk about their XG numbers as well, a lot better than Burnley. But Burnley won’t care because they end up winning the game.
“But what’s interesting is a lot of the time this season, we haven’t seen teams, especially the promoted teams, make mistakes sort of round the back, trying to play from the back. So it was interesting the fact that this actual goal comes from a poor pass.
“Now people may be critical and saying, these teams shouldn’t be playing from the back. We wanted to show the first few clips of Karl Darlow to actually show he’s more than competent with the ball. And that actually is just a poor pass and he’d be really disappointed with that.”
Karl Darlow applauds fans after Burnley v Leeds United - Premier League
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Daniel Farke may be reluctant to make too many defensive changes for West Ham
The defeat against Burnley means Leeds boss Daniel Farke has several difficult decisions to make, as he looks to inspire a response under the lights at Elland Road.
Leeds’ need to change in attack is self-evident and if Dan James is fit he will almost certainly replace Brenden Aaronson after his glaring miss.
Pascal Struijk also came under fire for his role in the defeat at Turf Moor and, with Slovenian defender Jaka Bijol breathing down his neck, his place could be under threat.
Having opted for stability for most of the season so far, Farke may be reluctant to make too many changes at the back at once. As a result, it is possible that only one of Bijol or Perri get the nod, in a reprieve for Karl Darlow for now.