The 49ers have staged a summer fire sale of players at Leeds United this summer mostly out of necessity, with members of Daniel Farke’s squad being sold, loaned out or allowed to leave on a free.
Seven have been sold, the latest being Crysencio Summerville who has joined West Ham on a five-year deal for an initial £25m. Five more have gone out on loan, including Jack Harrison and Rasmus Kristensen.
A whole plethora of players have left the club at the end of their contracts. Notably, Liam Cooper is still without a club despite recent talks with Watford while Jamie Shackleton has joined Sheffield United.
Cody Drameh, Ian Poveda and Luke Ayling have all left for Championship clubs on a free and another, in the form of goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel, has also departed Elland Road after his contract expired.
Piroe and Meslier react as Dani van den Heuvel breaks silence
At the end of the 2023-24 season, Leeds announced their retained list and 21-year-old goalkeeper van den Heuvel was confirmed as leaving on a free. It has taken van den Heuvel until now to break his silence.
He told fans on Instagram that Leeds felt “like home” and leaves the club four years after joining from Ajax, without managing to make a single senior appearance but plenty for the U21’s and U18’s at Leeds.
His exit has prompted reaction from another Leeds goalkeeper in the form of Illan Meslier, while fellow countryman Joel Piroe has also commented as has Pascal Struijk. Clearly, van den Heuvel was well liked.
After van den Heuvel, what is Leeds current goalkeeper set-up?
Of course, French stopper Meslier remains Leeds’ first choice and should he reach 35 appearances during 2024-25, he will surpass 200 outings for Leeds. An incredible achievement for a goalkeeper so young.
Meslier might be the best goalkeeper in the second tier and it is hard to look past Karl Darlow as the league’s best second-choice goalkeeper. He will look to push Meslier but fill in in the Cup competitions.
New signing Alex Cairns replaces Kris Klaesson as third choice, but this week Cairns admitted he knows he is unlikely to actually play. Young Harry Christy has been promoted to fourth-choice goalkeeper at Leeds.
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