Leeds can secure 18/19 promotion if they sign ex-Huddersfield ace who is kicking heels at giants
COMMENT By Richard Parks
Leeds United can secure promotion next season if they sign Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward on a season-long loan.
United are in desperate need of a new keeper in the summer who can pull of key saves and does not get a nose bleed every time the ball is pumped into his penalty box.
It is inevitable that 2017 summer signings Felix Wiedwald and Andy Lonergan will be offloaded in the forthcoming window after wretched campaigns, while 21-year-old Bailey Peacock-Farrell is too inexperienced to lead a promotion charge.
Following Leeds' disastrous decision to let Rob Green leave last summer, it is imperative that the club get their next keeper move spot on.
The answer to their dilemma can be found in the Liverpool reserves, where Ward is kicking his heels in frustration as he plays third fiddle to senior men Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet.
The 24-year-old has pedigree and the ability to provide a solidity to Leeds that has been sorely lacking this season.
Capped four times by Wales, Ward was integral to Huddersfield's promotion campaign while on loan last season, keeping 12 clean sheets in 26 matches and performing heroics in the play-off final at Wembley against Reading.
He is at the stage of his career where he needs to be playing regular football and dropping down to the Championship again would provide him with a great new challenge after a frustrating campaign in which he has made just one senior Liverpool appearance.
Ward is sure to be a player in demand in the summer. Leeds must strike early and aim to tie up a loan deal by promising him the number one spot for the entirety of the campaign.
In other Leeds United news, it can be revealed that NINE senior players at the club are in Radrizzani's firing line and fighting for their jobs.