Daniel Farke had to resort to using his third-choice goalkeeper for Leeds United’s last match versus Birmingham City, Kristoffer Klaesson drafted in at the last second and keeping a clean sheet to the relief of the German boss.
The Whites were left with no option but to give the unproven Norwegian shot-stopper a chance owing to Karl Darlow picking up an injury prior to the Blues clash and Illan Meslier still being suspended after petulantly picking up a red card away at Preston North End.
Locking horns with a Lilywhites player and lashing out was always going to result in Leeds’ first-choice keeper being given his marching orders at Deepdale, with Farke now wondering whether the Frenchman deserves the status of being the number one in-between the sticks after such an outburst.
Transfer rumours indicate that Leeds could well swoop in for this goalkeeper from Italy amidst growing doubts, sensationally waving goodbye to Meslier in the process.
Leeds transfer latest – Bartomej Dragowski
In recent days, TuttoMercatoWeb have reported on the possibility that Leeds will sign Spezia goalkeeper Bartomej Dragowski this January, with the Polish shot-stopper allegedly eyeing up a move away from the Serie B outfit.
Leeds aren’t the only club name-checked in the report from England however, with fellow Championship club Hull City also tempted to test the waters and land the 6 foot 3 keeper this month.
Previously on the books at Fiorentina, Dragowski would aim get to his career back on track if signed by Leeds and become a star at Elland Road ahead of Meslier.
The stats that show Dragowski would be a good signing for Leeds
Capped by the senior Poland side twice, Dragowski has been a reliable shot-stopper throughout his career for many different Italian clubs.
Whilst playing for Empoli out on loan from Fiorentina, Dragowski stole all the headlines when he pulled off a remarkable 17 saves in just one game versus Atalanta towards the tail end of the 2018-19 campaign – Empoli singlehandedly kept in the game by the heroic exploits of their loanee, a 0-0 scoreline somehow the final outcome.
It was a loan spell that saw Dragowski enter Empoli folklore, football talent scout Jacek Kulig even labelling him as a “superman” during his time with the relegation candidates.
In the present, however, Dragowski’s game time has been cut in Serie B and so Leeds could offer the one-time Empoli monster a chance at redemption.
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When the towering stopper has played for Spezia this campaign, the 26-year-old has shown glimpses of why he was so highly regarded early into his fledging career – impressively pulling off nine saves in November for his Serie B outfit versus Cremonese.
In contrast, Meslier has struggled at points this campaign with Leeds routinely cruising in contests and then the nerves are suddenly ramped up out of nowhere due to an erratic error or lapse in concentration from the 23-year-old – who pundit Jamie Carragher previously criticised for having “no presence” in the sticks.
That was seen in Leeds’ slender 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle a few months back, Meslier unable to keep the Pilgrims out all game with Ben Waine scoring late on despite the visitors from Devon only registering three on-target efforts.
It could well be a worthwhile buy adding Dragowski to the Leeds ranks this month therefore, further bringing competition to the goalkeeper positions at Elland Road with Farke then faced with the prospect of using four goalkeepers in just one season.
