£15m star is now the top Leeds target

Leeds United have seemingly failed in their efforts to keep goalkeeper Karl Darlow at Elland Road on a new contract ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

The Wales international’s deal at the club expired at the start of this month and they were unable to agree fresh terms with the veteran stopper to keep him in West Yorkshire.

Now, rivals Manchester United have swooped in to agree a deal to sign the 35-year-old shot-stopper to be their back-up option to Senne Lammens at Old Trafford.

Given that the Red Devils have Champions League football on offer if Lammens is unavailable at any point, Darlow has made an understandable career choice this summer.

Why losing Karl Darlow is not a blow for Leeds United

Losing the experienced goalkeeper should not be viewed as a blow for the Whites, despite ending last season as the number one, because they could do better than him.

He ranked 25th out of all the goalkeepers in the division for goals prevented, based on the xG against his goal, which shows that he was far from one of the better performing shot-stoppers.

Darlow did have his moments, winning the Premier League Save of the Month award for May, but his overall statistics for the season suggest that the Whites can do better.

At the age of 35, the Welshman would also not have been the long-term solution between the sticks for Daniel Farke, which means that his exit can speed up the process of finding the new long-term number one at Elland Road.

Darlow’s move to Manchester United on a free transfer, therefore, may end up being beneficial to Leeds in the long run if it leads to them landing a better option in goal for now and for the future.

Leeds to step up efforts to sign a better goalkeeper than Karl Darlow

In fact, the club are already looking at a player who could arrive at Elland Road as a star who is in a completely different league to the Welshman as a goalkeeping talent.

The Leeds Press reports that Leeds United are interested in a deal to sign Derby County goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom before the end of the summer transfer window.

It claims that the Whites are expected to step up their pursuit of a new number one after Darlow’s decision to leave, and they have identified the Sweden international as their top target to replace him.

The outlet adds that the Championship team are hoping to rake in a fee of between £12m and £15m for the shot-stopper, but it remains to be seen how much Leeds are prepared to pay for him.

Their respective statistics at league level in the 2025/26 campaign suggest that Zetterstrom would arrive at Elland Road as a much better option between the sticks for Farke, particularly because of his shot-stopping abilities.

The Swedish ace prevented 5.5 more goals than the xG of the shots against him suggested that he should have, whilst Darlow conceded 1.5 more than he was expected to.

He also caught the eye by preventing 1.7 goals in the second tier in the 2024/25 campaign, even playing against Farke’s title-winning Leeds side, for the Rams.

Whilst Zetterstrom’s numbers are impressive at Championship level, below the Premier League, his shot-stopping quality was also on display at the World Cup for Sweden.

The 27-year-old shot-stopper prevented 1.11 more goals than expected across two games against Japan and France, as Sweden were knocked out by the latter in the round of 32.

His form on the world stage suggests that he has the potential to carry his Championship performances up to the Premier League, because he has already shown his quality against elite players this summer.

Therefore, Leeds could improve their team and forget about Darlow by signing Zetterstrom to provide far more quality as a shot-stopper in the top-flight next season.