Leeds United now leading the race to sign Newcastle GK Karl Darlow

Leeds United has trumped AFC Bournemouth in their negotiations to secure the services of Karl Darlow, the reserve goalkeeper from Newcastle United, ahead of the 2023/24 Championship season.

Phil Hay of The Athletic first reported the news on Tuesday, July 25.

For quite some time, Leeds has been eyeing the former Charlton goalie and current Magpie as they look to bolster their goalkeeping department in the aftermath of their relegation to the English second-flight division.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth had also shown interest in Darlow in the past few days and now reportedly moved on from trying to acquire the keeper.

Darlow went on loan to Hull City, of the Championship, during the latter half of the previous season. However, it appears that Bournemouth has now redirected their focus toward a different target when it comes to bolstering their goal for next year.

Although Leeds had anticipated Meslier’s departure during this summer transfer window, they have yet to receive any offers for the 23-year-old shot-stopper. That said, a sale is still expected so Leeds are in need of bringing someone to cover for that eventual departure.

Already 32 years old, Darlow doesn’t feature on Eddie Howe’s plan for the 2023/24 season with Nick Pope as the clear GK1 followed by Loris Karius in the pecking order as the GK2.

Newcastle have Darlow under contract for two more seasons, but the fee to be paid by Leeds is not expected to be humongous—reasonably.