Yorkshire Post 12/7/21 Leeds United loan out Kiko Casilla
Goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has left Leeds United on loan until the end of next season.
By Stuart Rayner
The 34-year-old has joined La Liga side Elche.
By the end of his loan, Casilla's Elland Road contract will
have 12 months to run.
Casilla's status as first-choice goalkeeper was effectively
ended by being found guilty of using racist behaviour in 2020, even though
Leeds stood by him at the time.
The Spaniard's eight-match suspension opened the door to
youngster Illan Meslier whose performances since have established him as the No
1 at the club.
Casilla joined from Real Madrid midway through the 2018-19
and although he ended it on a low, making a bad decision in the play-off
semi-final second leg against Derby County, he was part of a team which had an
outstanding defensive record in the first half of the following season.
But he struggled during a difficult period of results for
the team and was already under pressure from outside the club when he was found
guilty of directing racial abuse at Charlton Athletic's Jonathan Leko in an
October 2019 game.
Leeds were very unhappy about the ban, based on the balance
of probability with no decisive proof either way.
With Meslier excelling during the season's run-in, Leeds
nevertheless retained Casilla as their back-up goalkeeper, and as well as
playing cup matches, he was called into action when Meslier contracted Covid-19
in January. He also played two matches in May, which now look increasingly like
thank you farewell appearances.
Coach Marcelo Bielsa has always been fulsome in his praise
for Casilla's goalkeeping and professionalism.