Lucas Perri has come in for further criticism after Leeds United’s draw with Manchester United on Sunday, with the Brazilian not covering himself in glory for the visitors’ equaliser.
It has been an underwhelming start to life at Elland Road for Lucas Perri.
Was Lucas Perri to blame for the Man Utd equaliser? 🤔
Paul Robinson was not happy with the Leeds keeper
There was no question that Leeds needed to sign a new goalkeeper in the summer. Illan Meslier overstayed his welcome as number one while the Whites were still in the Championship.
Unfortunately, Perri is yet to prove that he is the long-term answer in between the sticks.
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Perri has looked far from convincing so far this season. He has been more assured than the Frenchman from set-pieces. And he made a fantastic save during the first-half against Manchester United on Sunday.
However, his distribution is incredibly poor, as is his decision-making. There have been plenty of occasions where Perri has either been slow off his line or made completely the wrong call about whether to charge out.
And that cost Leeds at the weekend. Perri was in no man’s land when Matheus Cunha scored the away team’s equaliser.
He was far from the only player at fault. But Daniel Farke took the unusual step of blaming Perri for the goal in his post-match press conference.
However, speaking on BBC Radio Leeds before Farke’s comments, Aidy White suggested that he cannot see a change being made anytime soon.
“He’s hesitant, his kicking’s not very good. I think with the budget, we probably could have done better in my opinion,” he said.
“It’s still a lot of money to fork out on a goalkeeper, and we could have done better. If anything, I think maybe Darlow, in my opinion, could quite easily come in and play. I don’t think he will. I think Farke will stick with Perri. But Meslier, it’s too far gone for me now.”
Leeds have an issue in January with Lucas Perri struggling to silence his critics
Leeds do have a problem in the January transfer window.
Recent results hint that staying in the Premier League is a more than realistic target. The Whites are now eight points clear of the bottom three, and have so much more momentum than the teams below them.
However, complacency will be punished. Leeds have shown how quickly a season can turn around and have to be wary of West Ham or Nottingham Forest doing similar.
Realistically, how long can Leeds United’s unbeaten run go on for?
Daniel Farke has overseen Leeds' longest Premier League unbeaten run since David O'Leary in 2001
Strengthening this month is essential. But it is hard to imagine that a new goalkeeper will be arriving.
Clearly, signing a replacement for Perri midway through the season will not come cheap. And Leeds do have greater concerns in other positions, with the number of injuries gradually increasing.
Karl Darlow is not a terrible understudy by any means. He showed last year that he can step in and do a reasonable job. So there is no reason to panic if the right option does not become available in January.
But there is no doubt that the question mark over Perri is getting larger and larger with almost every appearance.
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