Elia Caprile feels he’s got to where he wanted to be after a crazy few years and some difficult choices for the goalkeeper.
In 2020, he made the difficult decision to leave Chievo and Italian football for Leeds United and the chance of making it in England. He never quite made the breakthrough at Elland Road, but Marcelo Bielsa saw something in him and brought the youngster into the first team squad on a number of occasions.
After around 18 months with Leeds United, Caprile made the decision to take a gamble and head back to Italy but with Serie C club Pro Patria. That went well for him and a year later he was at Bari, before then signing for giants Napoli and being loaned to Empoli.
He did well for the Tuscany club, yet wasn’t able to fight through as number one when given the chance in Naples. He’s now gone on loan to Cagliari and is a fully fledged Serie A goalkeeper at the age of 23.
Those decisions, including the gamble to sign for and then leave Leeds United, have paid off for him.
Quoted by Corriere dello Sport, he mentioned his time at Leeds United: “Three years ago I played in C in front of a hundred people, on Saturday at San Siro there were seventy thousand: my childhood dream has come true. We started well and that’s what matters.
“Napoli? I say a great team, city and environment. But I suffered, I trained hard, I wanted to play more. The club gave the go-ahead and Cagliari found an agreement on a choice dictated by my needs. Quick and painless. With a precise target: Giving my best. As I did between Chievo, Pro Patria, Leeds, Empoli and Napoli.”
