Marcelo Bielsa earlier played down Leeds United’s chances of making much impact in the January window, but injuries in the squad should make him reconsider his options. Reports from the Hull Daily Mail indicates that the Whites can go after Burnley’s out of favour goalkeeper Tom Heaton after Jamal Blackman suffered an injury and returned to his parent club, Chelsea.
Bailey Peacock Farrell, the regular custodian for the Whites has come under scanner for his recent displays and many were of the opinion that Blackman should get his chance soon. However, that is not going to happen anymore, and the Whites are bare thin in the goalkeeping department.
Will Huffer and Kamil Miazek are the next best options Bielsa has at the club, and both of them are yet to have any senior team experience so far in their career. Therefore going in for someone like Heaton definitely makes sense for the Whites.
Heaton has been relatively unlucky in the last two years. Being the club captain, he suffered a significant injury last season and missed the chunk of the season. The England international was replaced by Nick Pope who went on to have a breakthrough campaign and even when Heaton was back fit; Sean Dyche went on to use Pope in goal as his performances were impeccable.
On the back of a terrific season, Pope even made it to the World Cup squad to Russia. If not for the injury, Heaton would have probably been the third choice goalkeeper for England at the World Cup and would have continued captaining the Clarets.
This season, Heaton would have thought that he can claim his place back when this time Pope went out with a severe injury. With Heaton also out for a brief period after the World Cup, the manager brought in Joe Hart who has since then firmly established himself as the number one in goal. However, Pope’s performance in the past will make him a strong contender for a move to a big club. Therefore, Burnley might be a bit sceptical about letting someone of Heaton’s ability go.
However, the 32-year-old would be frustrated after all this and might want to look for a move away to play regular football. The experienced man will be an upgrade over Peacock Farrell and would provide a major boost to the Whites in their promotion pursuit. With the Championship table getting tighter, having a commanding voice in goal would give the defence a lot of confidence and someone like Heaton can be a leader at the back.
