Kiko Casilla preparing for Leeds United debut - is this the start of a long reign as Elland Road's number one?

Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla will make his Whites debut this weekend against Rotherham United.

Kiko Casilla will get his debut away at Rotherham United tomorrow and it is hard not to think that this should be the start of a long reign in goal. It was, in its own way, as much of a surprise to see Casilla trading Real Madrid for the Championship as it was to see Marcelo Bielsa embracing Elland Road last summer.

Both had their reasons for taking the plunge - largely to do with where Leeds could go, as opposed to where they were - but Bielsa himself felt a touch of surprise at Casilla, an elite goalkeeper, descending on England’s second division. “It’s not common that a player of his level chooses to play in the Championship,” Bielsa said.

Casilla has a substantial contract at Elland Road, running to 2023 after his free transfer from the Bernabeu, and he told Spanish media this week that he had “signed for four years and I want to see them all out.” But it is his reputation and stature which will make Leeds think that they have found a number one who could hold down that position indefinitely.

Bielsa said Bailey Peacock-Farrell, the keeper who is about to make way tomorrow, would “play as a starter again in the future” but Peacock-Farrell cannot fail to appreciate the scale of the competition beside him.

Casilla’s experience has come in different forms: a decent haul of La Liga appearances for Espanyol, on Mauricio Pochettino’s watch for a short while, and many years inside the confines of an uber-ambitious club in Real Madrid.

Rotherham’s stadium will not be much of a culture shock this weekend - a modern bowl in the traditions of 21st-century football in England - but the cold weather and the football might be. His debut is a sub-plot in a derby which Leeds need to turn in their favour.

Victor Orta, United’s head of recruitment, did the groundwork for signing Casilla but the transfer received final approval from Bielsa, who managed in Spain at Athletic Bilbao while Casilla was breaking through with Espanyol.

“I think the fans of Leeds United should be proud to have Casilla as their goalkeeper,” Bielsa said. “It's not frequent that you get a player from Real Madrid and it's not common that a player of his level chooses to play in the Championship.

“Players are always very careful when they have to take decisions. They receive a lot of advice from people before taking them. Casilla comes to Leeds because he thinks he’s not making a mistake by coming here. It’s a decision he thought a lot about. English football and Leeds United should be proud that a player from Real Madrid has come.”

For Peacock-Farrell, Bielsa’s decision to start Casilla tomorrow allows him to retreat to the support trenches, much as the 22-year-old would have chosen to stay on the front line.

Peacock-Farrell is at the end of his longest run of first-team fixtures - 27 Championship appearances under Bielsa - and is making way with Leeds a long way into a convincing bid for automatic promotion. Bielsa talked of goalkeepers going through a “long process” of development and Casilla, at 32, has navigated far more of it.