David Prutton: Peacock-Farrell deserves the chance to hang on to his No1 spot

He’s got Northern Ireland promoting him to their senior squad at the age of 21. In all it’s proof that in terms of his ability as a goalkeeper, Peacock-Farrell is the real deal.

That doesn’t mean he’s destined for the very top but at the level Leeds United are playing at he looks more than up to it. Most kids who break through are ballsy and fearless for a while and sometimes a short opportunity in the first team can make them look better than they are but Peacock-Farrell brought some control to his position in a way that older keepers than him couldn’t.

To be blunt, he coped better than Felix Wiedwald.

So what do Leeds do with him now? It’s a difficult question because their choice of keeper is one of the biggest decisions facing them this summer.

They’re caught in that no-man’s land between owing a duty of care to Peacock-Farrell and his career and owing a duty of care to the club’s fortunes. As they discovered to their cost this season, you’re onto a loser if you get that position wrong. No team goes anywhere with a suspect keeper.

On that basis I’d assume that Wiedwald’s days at Leeds are probably numbered. When a keeper loses the confidence of the crowd and his head coach, it’s often best to head for new pastures. I’ve actually got a degree of sympathy for Wiedwald. He looked unsuited to the Championship and I don’t think his performances warranted much faith but the way in which Leeds handled his signing a year ago put him under big pressure from the start.

I don’t want to go over old ground but replacing and then losing Rob Green was a big mistake. There’s no point arguing otherwise. New signings are always expected to make an impact but in Wiedwald’s case he needed to be more than decent. He needed to be exceptional because he was replacing a keeper who’d been as good as anyone in the Championship during the second half of last season.

Thomas Christiansen made the call to name him as number one and flaws were exposed in Wiedwald’s game.

When cracks appeared, people jumped on them straight away.

Andy Lonergan is a different animal. He’s getting on a bit now but he’s been around the Championship for long enough to, at the very least, be a good guide for someone like Peacock-Farrell.

Lonergan probably wouldn’t shout the odds about his recent form but I don’t doubt that Peacock-Farrell’s displays have been helped by having Lonergan behind him and in his ear. Peacock-Farrell could have all the ability on God’s earth but there’s no position where experience and support is more vital.

Outfield players can help each other on the pitch. A keeper’s game is his own; a specialism that no-one else really understands.

That’s why picking the right man there is essential. When I got my first chance at Nottingham Forest, there were four or five roles I could have been given. I was a central midfielder but I had legs and energy so there was scope to play me out wide or a bit more advanced.

Sticking a youngster like me into the team wasn’t a fundamental risk. Even if I was quiet or played poorly, others could find a way to carry me. Not that I wanted carried by anyone – but you take my point.

Goalkeepers are bespoke. If it goes wrong there then it tends to go wrong badly and that’s why so many managers seek a proven option.

They play the percentages and trust an older head to play 46 games without any fuss or crises.

Despite how well Peacock-Farrell has done, I don’t doubt that Leeds are feeling the same temptation to bring in someone else. If not someone significantly older than Peacock-Farrell then someone with more games behind them.

And yet Peacock-Farrell is the project. He’s the academy graduate, the boy showing promise. It would make no sense – not to mention be extremely unfair – to shunt him back to the bench, especially now that Northern Ireland are getting keen.

As much as the club come first, he needs a fair crack of the whip in pre-season. He needs the chance to hang onto his place.

To my mind, pre-season – assuming Wiedwald moves on – should be an open battle between Peacock-Farrell, Lonergan and whichever keeper comes in.

It should be a fair fight in which the player who performs best gets the nod. But Peacock-Farrell should start out as the one who the other pair need to displace.

If he comes back in the same mood, with the same attitude, the same form and the same composure then I honestly feel that Leeds need to back him.

He’s been in exceptional in a few games and highly competent in most others, and highly competent is what you want in the Championship.

It’s too early to declare him first choice next season but the idea shouldn’t be easily dismissed. Forget about his age: he’s either good enough or he isn’t. And the evidence so far is on his side.