Official: Chelsea goalkeeper becomes second Bielsa loan signing at Leeds United

Jamal Blackman has joined Leeds United on a season-long loan, thus becoming the second Chelsea loanee under Marcelo Bielsa’s care for the upcoming season.

Blackman has three years remaining on his deal and turns 25 in October, which must mean that he’s on one of his last (if not the last) loan spells as a Chelsea player. Jamal’s professional career only really kicked off two seasons ago, when he excelled in League Two for Wycombe Wanderers. He then leapfrogged League One altogether and was a regular for Sheffield United in the Championship last season, earning plaudits but not without a couple of mishaps along the way.

As things stand, Blackman doesn’t have all that much of a fight on his hands for a starting place at Leeds. Only young Bailey Peacock-Farrell stands in his way after the departures of Felix Wiedwald and Andy Lonergan, although it’s entirely possible that Leeds sign another goalkeeper by the end of the summer. Jamal has been touted as a future Premier League goalkeeper by Gareth Ainsworth, his manager at Wycombe and hopefully a successful spell at Leeds will prove a crucial step in fulfilling his promise.