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On the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast (9:00), Phil Hay has become the latest man to chastise Kiko Casilla.
The Spaniard had an absolute nightmare against Derby County in the Whites’ playoff semi-final second leg. He dropped multiple clangers due to his eagerness to rush out of his box, and he was eventually punished as Jack Marriott slotted in the equaliser after a mistake from the keeper.
What’s been said then?
The journalist didn’t hold back in his criticisms of the former Real Madrid man.
“That was an absolute gift, and we should talk about Casilla,” Hay said.
“It’s not as if that came from nowhere, we’ve seen it before over the past three or four weeks. There was the foul on Quaner at Ipswich, the error at Ipswich, which was not unlike what we saw against Derby.
“Considering he’s come from Real Madrid on a very big wage, it’s concerning. He’s got four years to go on his contract and you have to say that there needs to be changes there otherwise he’s going to struggle in this division constantly.”
Already struggling
If Casilla hadn’t had the history of being a Champions League winner and a Spain international his poor performances at Elland Road wouldn’t be excused in the way they have been.
The Yorkshire Evening Post writer said that the goalkeeper needs to make changes or he is going to have issues in this division, but the reality is he’s already struggling.
One moment of madness Hay didn’t mention was the Spaniard’s red card against Sheffield United back in March, which could’ve proved costly had the end of the campaign turned out differently.
We’ve seen it before where keepers from La Liga have had problems upon their arrival in England. Claudio Bravo has had a nightmare spell at Man City where his form has never recovered, and it took David De Gea a couple of years to find his best after coming to Manchester United.
It remains to be seen whether or not Casilla will go the way of Bravo or De Gea, but there’s no doubting that he needs to find confidence from somewhere ahead of next season.