President insists player ‘had excellent experience’ at Leeds United – Flying right now

AC Chievo president Sergio Pellissier is of the belief Elia Caprile’s disappointing spell at Leeds United has benefited him.

Pellissier has talked about the 23-year-old’s time at Leeds during a chat with Radio Marte, relayed by Tutto Napoli.

The stopper came through the ranks of Chievo’s youth system, but didn’t feature for their first team. He rejected a renewal offer from the Italian club to join Leeds United in January 2020.

Marcelo Bielsa was then in charge at Elland Road and the Chilean didn’t consider Caprile at Leeds. He was sent out on loan to Pro Patria during the 2021/22 season and the Whites sold him to Bari in the summer of 2022.

A year later, Caprile moved to Napoli, who let him spend last season on loan at Empoli. The goalkeeper made his first appearance for the Naples club when he came off the bench against Juventus at the weekend.

Pellissier, who previously ran Chievo, knows his compatriot well. He’s of the belief the goalkeeper can succeed at the Serie A side. When discussing this, he explained how Caprile ended up at Leeds.

“I met Caprile at Chievo, he was very young and already had quality. He had been training with us for two years with the first team, he had done very well with the Primavera, then the year in which he should have signed his first contract he decided to go abroad, and so we lost him on a free transfer,” he said.

“At Leeds he had an excellent experience even if he played little, then he came back and followed the right path. Today Caprile is an excellent goalkeeper.

“Playing for Napoli is not easy, there are great expectations from a hot club, but he has the quality and personality to do well, and he demonstrated it in his experiences with Bari and Empoli. In short, in my opinion he’s ready for a place like Napoli, even if it won’t be easy to impose himself.”

Caprile played 19 games for Leeds U21s, but didn’t make an appearance for the Whites’ first team.