Leeds United have enjoyed a strong start to the Championship season from a defensive perspective, with three clean sheets in their four matches.
The Whites had conceded three goals in a 3-3 draw with Portsmouth at Elland Road on the opening day, but have followed that up with shutouts against West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield Wednesday, and Hull City.
Despite their defensive success, Illan Meslier has still conceded 0.76 more goals than expected, based on the xG against him, after he had let in 4.49 more than expected during the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
Leeds once had a player who could have been an upgrade on the Frenchman between the sticks, in Elia Caprile, but former boss Jesse Marsch messed up by allowing him to leave.
Elia Caprile's Leeds career
The Whites swooped to sign the young shot-stopper from Chievo's U19 side in January 2020 and initially added him to their academy set-up.
Caprile made 19 appearances for Leeds at U21 level over the next 18 months, conceding 26 goals in total, and featured on the bench in the Championship and the Premier League.
The Italy youth international then spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan with Pro Patria and caught the eye with 12 clean sheets in 36 matches in the Serie C.
That form was not good enough to convince Marsch, who was in charge at the time, that Caprile was good enough to be a first-team option for Leeds, as the American coach sold him to Bari for just £1.4m in the summer of 2022.
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Elia Caprile's soaring market value
The former Whites boss messed up when he made that decision as the towering shot-stopper, who was hailed as a "superstar" by scout Jacek Kulig, has soared in value since moving on from Elland Road.
Caprile made 37 appearances and saved a whopping 77% of the shots on his goal across 37 appearances for Bari in the Serie B in his first season with the club, which convinced Napoli to swoop in and sign him for £6m in 2023.
This shows that one of the biggest clubs in Italy decided that he was good enough to play for them just 12 months on from his Yorkshire exit, which was also the same summer that Leeds were relegated from the Premier League, and they then sent him out on loan to Empoli in the Serie A.
Appearances
44
23
Save success rate
68%
75%
Goals prevented
-4.49
0.96
Run-out success rate
90%
100%
As you can see in the table above, despite playing at a higher level, the Italian titan significantly outperformed Meslier as a shot-stopper and a sweeper last season.
Caprile's outstanding performances in the Serie A for Empoli contributed to his soaring market value, which currently stands at €15.1m (£12.7m) on FootballTransfers.
Impressively, his valuation is higher than 19 of Leeds' current 24 first-team players, with only Meslier (€16.8m), Max Wober (€16.4m), Ethan Ampadu (€18.5m), Brenden Aaronson (€20.7m), and Wilfried Gnonto (€21.4m) ahead of him.
Marsch messed up by allowing him to join Bari in the summer of 2022 as the Whites have missed out on a hugely talented goalkeeper who could have been a potential upgrade on Meslier between the sticks.
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