Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke was brought in ahead of the 2023/24 campaign to lead the club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The Whites were relegated from the top-flight at the end of last season and now have a squad full of players with top level experience and a great chance to compete for promotion back to the big time.
Who did Leeds sign this summer?
Although they were able to keep hold of the likes of Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville, Leeds did allow a host of first-team players to depart and this meant that new signings were needed to bolster the squad.
Ethan Ampadu, Sam Byram, Joel Piroe, Glen Kamara, Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon, Ilia Gruev, Djed Spence, and Jaidon Anthony were all brought in to improve the depth and quality of Farke's options across the pitch.
Whilst Darlow was signed, from Newcastle United, to compete with Illan Meslier for a starting spot between the sticks, the ex-Hull City loanee has not been trusted in the Championship so far.
This could open the door for Leeds to sign a goalkeeper who has the quality to immediately replace the Frenchman between the sticks in January.
Were Leeds interested in Angus Gunn?
Phil Hay revealed, on The Square Ball podcast, during the summer transfer window that Norwich City colossus Angus Gunn was on the list of shot-stoppers that were appreciated by the Whites as they looked at their options.
That interest came two years on from the club's failed effort to land him in a £5m deal from Southampton ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, as the Canaries secured his signature amid late pressure from the Yorkshire-based side to snap him up.
However, their latest round of interest did not amount to anything as Darlow was brought in as a back-up to Meslier and they did not splash the cash on a new number one.
Football Insider had reported that Leeds were planning to sell the French shot-stopper during the summer transfer window but a move failed to materialise before the deadline passed.
The same outlet claimed that the club value him at a minimum of £20m and that Premier League sides Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur had both shown an interest in him, although they seemingly opted against a serious effort to sign him.
This suggests that the door could still be open for Meslier to depart in the upcoming January window if an attractive bid comes in for him, as the Whites were prepared to part ways with the former Lorient prospect ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Therefore, Farke must revive his interest in Gunn at the start of next year in order to finally ditch his current number one heading into the second half of the season.
How many clean sheets does Gunn have for Norwich?
The Norwich-born goalkeeper, who was twice-signed by Farke – in 2017 and 2021 – during their time together in Norfolk, has racked up 29 clean sheets in 106 competitive games for his current club.
He kept 15 shutouts in 45 matches on loan from Manchester City with Norwich during the 2017/18 campaign under the German head coach.
His form for the Yellows led to a permanent switch to Premier League side Southampton, where he only made 30 appearances and kept eight clean sheets in total before his move back to East Anglia two years ago.
Appearances
31
Goals conceded
65
Clean sheets
Six
How has Gunn performed for Norwich?
Since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, Gunn has been an excellent performer at Championship level and established himself as a star for the Canaries since taking the number one duties from the experienced Tim Krul.
The Scotland international has been an outstanding shot-stopper in the second tier over the last 15 months or so, as he has consistently proven himself to be capable of pulling off superb saves to keep out excellent efforts against his goal.
Gunn has saved 7.5 more goals than the average goalkeeper would have been expected to based on the post-shot xG value of the strikes he has faced in the Championship for Norwich.
This, essentially, means that the ex-Manchester City man has been significantly above average as a shot-stopper for the Canaries since the start of last season.
He has also showcased his ability as a sweeper. Over the last 365 days, Gunn ranks in the top 5% of his positional peers among the Men's Next 14 Competitions for the average number of defensive actions outside of his box (1.98) and the average distance of his defensive actions from his own goal (18.6 yards) per 90, as per FBref.
How has Illan Meslier performed for Leeds?
Meslier, meanwhile, has been a below-average performer between the sticks in terms of his shot-stopping ability since the start of last season.
The French prospect, who was signed for £5m from Lorient in 2020, conceded a staggering 12.4 more goals than the average goalkeeper would have been expected to have let in from the post-shot xG value of the shots against him in the Premier League last term.
He has been unable to push himself over the line into being an above-average shot-stopper with the drop down to Championship football as the 23-year-old dud has conceded 0.8 more than expected over the first 11 games of the campaign.
This suggests that Gunn is a considerably better goalkeeper when it comes to keeping out quality shots against him, particularly in the second division.
Meslier, who was once dubbed a "liability" by journalist David Kent, is also not as prevalent of a sweeper in comparison to the Norwich star as he does not rank inside the top 20% of goalkeepers in the Men's Next 14 Competitions for either of the aforementioned sweeping statistics over the last 365 days.
Therefore, Farke must now revive his interest in the 6 foot 5 EFL titan during the upcoming January transfer window as their respective statistics suggest that Gunn would come in as a big upgrade on the current number one.
The Scotland international is a proven Championship performer who has already worked with the German tactician and could, as a result, hit the ground running and take over from Meslier without being a liability between the sticks.