FC Empoli goalkeeper Elia Caprile’s short stint at Leeds United was ‘unique and fundamental’ to the rise he’s enjoyed in Italy since.
That’s according to his entourage, who have spoken in glowing terms about his time at ‘historic’ Leeds and the benefits that came from it.
Caprile joined Leeds U21 from Chievo U19 in January 2020 and spent the next eight months at Elland Road before moving to Pro Patria on loan and then leaving in a permanent move to Bari in July 2022.
He never made a first-team appearance for the Whites in that time but instead featured for the youth set up, where he racked up 19 appearances and generally impressed when given his chance.
He subsequently returned to Italy and has impressed since, shining for Bari in his season there to the point that Napoli considered him worth a €7m investment in the summer.
He’s considered one for the future for the Italian champions and is currently spending the season on loan at Empoli, another learning experience in the fledgling career of the 22-year-old.
That spell at Leeds could be considered something of a failure but it seems he doesn’t see it that way, and nor do those surrounding him.
“Elia has an important characteristic: he doesn’t let anything get him down,” Omar Rahman, head scout of the GB1 Football Agency and member of Caprile’s entourage told Sport Italia.
“For him nothing is insurmountable, and he always reacts to everything that happens with extreme balance.
“Technically and humanly Leeds was a unique and fundamental experience for him, at 18 years old finding himself in a historic club, in a football with different methodologies from ours and in the midst of a pandemic, have tempered him and made him become the man and footballer he is today.
“His path has always been uphill and dotted with intriguing challenges that have first led to reach the play-offs as a protagonist with Pro Patria and then a final with Bari for Serie A, which as everyone knows was lost at the last minute. But this is part of the past, now we need to look to the future and salvation of Empoli.”
