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£12m Leeds deal back on track as 28-year-old roars back to form

Leeds United
Leeds United corner flag. Credit: Imago

Leeds United had a busy summer window on their hands, as they geared up for a second season in the top flight. They managed to avoid relegation and finish in 14th place last year.

It came as a bit of a surprise considering how many people tipped them to be relegated.

But their work in the transfer widow last year played a big part in the team being able to beat the drop. Leeds recruited quality players that helped make immediate impact in the team.

They landed Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer, and brought in Gabriel Gudmudsson and Anton Stach who have since become very key parts of the team.

£12m Leeds deal back on track as 28-year-old roars back to form

Lucas Perri

Lucas Perri
Credit: Imago

One transfer that has since gone under the radar for all the wrong reasons was the arrival of Lucas Perri.

Leeds United thought they had resolved their long-standing goalkeeping problem by bringing in the Lyon star. He was tipped to be the number one for that campaign, with the club fully backing his signing.

He started the campaign on a positive note, despite being a bit shaky on the ball.

Then came an injury that sidelined him for a while, opening the door for Karl Darlow to take his place. The veteran keeper did a great job in Perri’s absence, but the Brazilian took reclaimed his spot.

After a series of errors in the middle of the campaign, Farke benched Perri who saw limited minutes till the end of the season.

With the signings of James Trafford, Lucas Perri was sent out on loan to Torino where he has been since the start of the season. And despite a slow start to the campaign riddled with errors, the Brazilian has bounced back.

The 28-year old kept a clean sheet in Torino’s 3-0 win over Parma, and thanked the clubs goalkeeping coaches for his turnaround in form.

“I’m very happy with the victory, we deserved this clean sheet. I have to thank the goalkeeping coaches, who worked hard with me and the others. We deserved it.”

READ MORE: Chris Wilder eats humble pie with stunning Leeds United admission: “You wouldn’t believe”

Very positive news for the 49ers

When the season started in Italy, there was a bit of concern that Perri’s start to the campaign would spell doom.

Leeds had signed James Trafford and Michael Zetterer this summer, which eventually means Perri will be offloaded permanently. And currently the best option is for Torino to trigger his buyout clause.

There were fears the deal could be in danger initially, but now that the Brazilian has picked up form, things look to be on course.

He will still need to maintain a level of performance that will guarantee a transfer next summer. So the big news is that the 49ers can offload the player and put a very bad transfer behind them.

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Malcolm Richardson
Malcolm Richardson
1 hour ago

Good luck Perri, sure you will be a great success 👍

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