Jon Newsome has commented on the immediate future for Kristoffer Klaesson after his two performances for Leeds United while Illan Meslier has been suspended.
Kristoffer Klaesson probably did not expect to receive any minutes when Illan Meslier was sent off in the loss to Preston North End on Boxing Day.
But after Karl Darlow dislocated his thumb, the Norwegian came into the side for a full debut ahead of the Championship clash with Birmingham City last week.
Kristoffer Klaesson praised after another clean sheet for Leeds
Klaesson kept a clean sheet against the Blues. He did not have a huge amount to do, but stepped up whenever he was called upon during the win in what would prove to be Wayne Rooney’s final game in charge of the club.
And he kept his place against Peterborough United in the FA Cup on Sunday. Once again, the 23-year-old was not given a lot of work. But it appears that some believe that he has left Daniel Farke with a decision to make.
Certainly, speaking on BBC Radio Leeds, Jon Newsome thinks Klaesson could have done little more to stake a claim to keep his place for the trip to Cardiff this weekend.
“Yeah I was impressed with him today. I thought there was a couple of occasions, especially in the first-half, set-pieces where he’s come and he’s dominated. There was one he came and plucked it out of the sky. That shows confidence. And then there was another one where his decision-making is really good, because he was in and around bodies and he rose above everybody and got a good fist, or two fists on it and cleared his decks and cleared the penalty area,” he said.
“So not put a foot wrong. Useful with the ball. I don’t think he’s great in terms of when it’s back to him and it’s under his feet. But he pings a good ball and he picks people out. I think probably his distribution’s a little bit better than Meslier at the moment. So yeah, he hasn’t put a foot wrong.
“But it’s a difficult decision to make, isn’t it, as a manager, that one now. You’ve got Meslier, he’s been your number one for a number of seasons. Makes a stupid, rash decision at Preston, gets sent off. Does he expect to get his shirt back? I’m pretty sure he does. Does Klaesson expect to lose his shirt? I bet there’s a nagging doubt in the back of his head that he knows it’s coming.”
Goalkeeper probably needed to be busier to push ahead of Illan Meslier
Klaesson deserves enormous credit just for leaving Farke with a decision to make. He had previously struggled to keep mistakes out of his game when he was making most of his appearances for the under-21s.
But he stepped up when he came on against Wolves in 2022. And he has now made three appearances for the Leeds first-team without conceding a single goal.
Meslier will surely regain his place. Farke believes that Meslier is one of the best in the league in his position. And there is still an element of a question mark over Klaesson given that Leeds dominated against both Birmingham and Peterborough.
But it is encouraging that Leeds now have a goalkeeper Farke could potentially bring in if Meslier’s form does dip further while Darlow is sidelined.
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