Elia Caprile, a teenage goalkeeper with no senior games for Leeds United, was sold for a small fee in 2022, but the Italian is currently thriving as Napoli’s starting stopper.
Leeds’ emphasis on young players in prior seasons was a sensible investment strategy at the time, as the team sought to avoid spending millions on youngsters who would later become veterans.
The problem they had was that just a few of them really had an impact on the first team, while others were sold for pennies on the dollar and went on to prove Leeds was wrong to let them go.
Goalkeeper Elia Caprile first joined Bari on a permanent basis in 2022 after leaving Leeds, and he made enough of an impression to warrant a transfer to Napoli following their stunning 2023 Scudetto victory.
Caprile gained experience in Serie A last season thanks to a loan at Empoli, and this season, because Alex Meret’s injury prevented him from playing for Naples, Caprile made his club debut under Antonio Conte.
In the process, he has participated in three straight league and cup victories, defeating Palermo in the Coppa Italia and Monza and Como in the Serie A after coming off the bench to preserve a clean sheet against Juventus.
After seven league games, Napoli leads the standings, leading second-place Inter Milan by two points going into the current international break.
Although Caprile joined Thorp Arch in January 2020 and left in the summer of 2022, he never played senior football for Leeds. Nevertheless, he is appreciative of the growth he experienced there.
According to Caprile, mentors like Marcelo Bielsa and other academy members were crucial. He told AreaNapoli:
A handful of the young players we signed from that group are proving the club incorrect by staying on for shorter periods of time.
Perhaps the most prominent is Caprile, who starts games and makes a significant impression at Napoli, one of the major teams in Europe.
His ability to go there and step into the side is impressive, and you have to think if Leeds had shown more endurance, we could have enjoyed these benefits.