Leeds United draw on public advice from greatest rival Man United with shrewd transfer tactic — YEP 10/7/24
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds United completed the signing of 31-year-old goalkeeper
Alex Cairns from Salford City earlier this week.
The former Thorp Arch academy graduate returns to Elland
Road nine years after leaving the club.
Cairns has turned out for Fleetwood Town, Stalybridge Celtic
and Salford since his one-and-only Leeds appearance. He is expected to take up
a third-choice goalkeeper role for the Whites, a pragmatic measure to ensure
United satisfy EFL ‘club-trained player’ squad requirements.
A similar - and in some cases identical - practice has been
employed by several clubs, particularly by those higher in the English football
pyramid. Leeds’ great rivals Manchester United recently extended veteran
stopper Tom Heaton’s contract, who turned 38 in April, but came through at Old
Trafford as a youngster two decades ago.
Similarly, Newcastle United brought boyhood supporter and
former Carlisle United, Walsall and Motherwell goalkeeper Mark Gillespie back
to St James’ Park in 2020, which Cairns’ move mirrors.
Between Heaton and Gillespie, the pair have made three
appearances each for their respective clubs, none of which were in the Premier
League.
A further explanation for Cairns’ return is the cost-saving
Leeds are expected to make. Remaining in the Championship for a second
consecutive season means belt-tightening is a necessity, and cutting down on
the wages of a squad’s third-choice goalkeeper, who is only likely to feature
at most a handful of times, is prudent financial practice.
Previous No. 3 between the posts Kris Klaesson has departed
for Raków Częstochowa in Poland, having arrived three summers ago as a reputed
up-and-coming youth international who could one day challenge for the No. 1
spot at Elland Road. That did not come to fruition for the Norwegian.
The 23-year-old has already admitted to Norwegian outlet VG
that his new deal in Poland’s top flight does not match the contract he was on
at Leeds, financially, but in a bid to feature regularly has deemed that a
price worth paying. While no professional footballer’s contract these days is
‘cheap’ by any means, certainly not in layman’s terms, Leeds are expected to
have replaced Klaesson’s role in the squad, satisfied an EFL requirement that
may have become an issue following club-trained duo Charlie Cresswell and Jamie
Shackleton’s exit, all for a lower comparable financial outlay.
While some may view the signing a cost-cutting exercise or
reflective of a lack of ambition, Leeds can point to the Premier League
champions as an example. Former Whites academy ‘keeper Scott Carson is
Manchester City’s third-choice stopper, almost certainly taking up far fewer
resources than an ‘ambitious’ selection as goalkeeper number three.
Even teams in Leeds’ division, possibly challenging the
Whites at the summit of the table come the end of the season, have employed a
similar tactic. Burnley recruited Lawrence Vigoroux from Leyton Orient last
summer, the Chilean goalkeeper moving up three leagues in the process having
never made an appearance above the third tier in English football.
In 12 months at Turf Moor, he is yet to make an appearance,
but as a homegrown player, in the eyes of Burnley’s key decision-makers,
fulfils an important function.
Consternation among supporters at the lack of signings,
compared to the several outgoings Leeds have sanctioned so far this summer, is
understandable. However, Leeds are already in a much stronger position than at
the same stage last year. Important boxes have been ticked, such as Joe Rodon’s
permanent addition and Cairns’ arrival, whilst raising funds here and there
from player sales and moving on under-utilised members of Daniel Farke’s squad
last season.
In theory, the early window business should allow Leeds a
free run at the middle and back end of this summer’s transfer period, gradually
adding to the first-team group without needing to pause, reassess, offload and
resume negotiations with incoming targets.