'Farke did make it clear' - Graham Smyth on Leeds United's latest conundrum
Graham Smyth has been speaking about a key decision that Daniel Farke will eventually have to make at Leeds United
YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth believes Karl Darlow has done Daniel Farke a massive favour with his performances between the posts in Leeds United’s last two Premier League matches. Darlow is seen as the back-up option at Elland Road following the summer arrival of Brazilian stopper Lucas Perri from French giants Lyon.
However, the 34-year-old has come into the side for the Whites’ last two fixtures against Fulham and Wolves and performed superbly, only missing out on a clean sheet in the final minutes against the former and making several vital saves to preserve a 3-1 win over the latter. Darlow is primed to play again this weekend as Leeds host Bournemouth, with Farke confirming that Perri is yet to return to training.
"We hope that he [Perri] can join us next week, but at the moment it is realistic to say he is not in contention [to play] before the international break,” the German coach said.
Graham Smyth’s verdict on Karl Darlow performances
Farke also praised the ‘excellent’ Darlow for his recent performances, especially against Wolves, where he made five saves and a high claim to guide Leeds to a vital second victory of the season.
And while Perri will most likely return as the starting goalkeeper once he’s back fit, Smyth believes Darlow’s form has removed any need to rush the Brazilian back ahead of time - while Darlow himself deserves the chance for further minutes.
“Darlow has been very good. Very, very solid, made some really good saves,” Smyth told the Inside Elland Road podcast. “Farke did make clear that Perri was their No.1. But then there’s this contradiction, almost, because they signed Jaka Bijol to play, but Farke has also made it clear that these players have the shirt if they shine, if they do well.
“And so it is an interesting one. I guess what it does, is it gives them more time. They don’t need to rush Perri back in. It’ll be an interesting one to see if he just lets him get back to full, full fitness and then put him back in, or if it’s the first available opportunity.
“But Darlow, there was one dropped cross at Wolves that he pounced on, that caused a few moments of panic. But apart from that, I can’t think of very much that he’s done wrong. A couple of his saves, that one he was denied because the offside flag went up, the header from point-blank range, was absolutely superb.”
How Karl Darlow compares to Lucas Perri in the Premier League
Despite being the perceived back-up, it’s Darlow who has outperformed Perri statistically in the Premier League so far this season.
Per FotMob data, the Welshman has made eight saves to Perri’s three at an 80% rate compared to his counterpart’s 38%. That translates to 4.00 to 1.00 in saves per 90 minutes. Additionally, Darlow has conceded just two goals to Perri’s five, while he’s prevented 0.2 goals compared to -2 from Perri.
In fairness to Perri, however, he has kept two clean sheets while Darlow is yet to manage one, while the bulk of his statistical underperformance is due to Leeds’ 5-0 thrashing away at Arsenal at the end of August, where the Whites were totally outclassed.
Even so, Darlow has proven he is more than adequate to step in for Perri when required, even putting pressure on the summer arrival for the starting spot if his standards drop.
Your next Leeds United read: Farke's Premier League selection decision has 'hurt so much'