Karl Darlow has been solid between the Leeds United sticks in Lucas Perri’s absence. He has dominated his penalty box and has provided security to the defenders, with the Whites looking solid and compact in the Premier League.
However, Perri has recovered from his muscle injury and is expected to be fit to start when Leeds return to action after the international break with a game against Burnley at Turf Moor.
The Brazilian goalkeeper was signed from Lyon in the summer to be the first-choice goalkeeper at Elland Road, and he started the season between the sticks for Daniel Farke.
While Perri did look circumspect and the manager admitted that he needs to improve his kicking, he is still ahead of Darlow in the pecking order and should start on Saturday, if fit.
But Darlow’s performances and the underlying metrics suggest the Welshman should keep his place in the team.
Karl Darlow has looked far more assured than Lucas Perri in goal this season
While Darlow can be blamed for one or two goals Leeds have conceded, he has largely looked assured and far more solid than Perri did at the start of the season.
The Leeds defence appears to trust the Welshman, and a continued run in the team has also boosted his confidence, which is evident in some of his performances.
However, logic dictates that Perri should go straight into the team once fit, given that he is the marked number one goalkeeper in Farke’s squad this season.
But just based on performances and raw data, Darlow should be keeping his place in the team over Perri, given how they have performed in goal in the ongoing campaign.
Just based on numbers, Perri has been one of the worst goalkeepers this season, and his numbers in the limited performances paint a very stark picture.
He looked shaky, lacked authority inside the box, and his passing and kicking were not up to the mark at the start of the season for Leeds.
The Brazilian ranked among the lowest for all goalkeepers in terms of save percentage and passing accuracy. He looked more than just shaky between the sticks in the Premier League.
However, Darlow has looked far more assured and the numbers back up what we have seen from him on the pitch.
He is amongst the best when it comes to claiming crosses and dominating his penalty box, which is a huge relief for the Leeds defenders, particularly from set-pieces.
The Welshman is among the best when it comes to finding his man from long passes, which is critical for Leeds as they play a physical number 9 like Dominic Calvert-Lewin up top.
Darlow has just been a marked improvement from Perri this season and has looked far more assured between the sticks for Leeds.
Darlow must keep his place
The Welshman replaced Illan Meslier in the team towards the end of last season and was solid as Leeds won the Championship and earned promotion to the Premier League.
Perri’s arrival pushed him back down to number 2 at Elland Road this season. However, his performances since the Brazilian’s injury show that he deserves a crack at the number 1 jersey.
Comparing the two goalkeepers this season shows that Darlow has no business being Perri’s number 2 at Elland Road this season, if performances are the only metric.
Farke has spoken about rewarding performances and the need for competition in the squad. It’s time he backs his words with action and starts Darlow at Turf Moor after the break.
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