Kis of life (or death?)
Oh well at least we sign a player some of us will have actually heard of!
Patrick Kisnorbo becomes Leeds third signing of the summer, snapped up on a free (of course) having been released by Leicester in the summer.
The player had been on trial with Derby and Crystal Palace, but Simon Grayson's offer of a two-year deal lured the 28-year-old Aussie north to ER.
Fitting the billing as a powerful central defender, reports suggest that Kisnorbo was on the verge of signing for an unnamed Premiership club a year ago. Whether this is merely hype or fact remains to be seen.
However Leeds appear to have finally made a signing in an area that has given us much concern....defence. With Richard Naylor missing through injury and Paul Huntington, Rui Marques and Lubo Michaelik unable to command a regular run due to injuries and inconsistancy, maybe the big-man is just what we need right now irrespective of the hype and spin?
Born in Melbourne, Kisnorbo has played his most senior football exclusively in the British Isles. First of all he played for Hearts before following Craig Levein to Leicester. Initially he was target to the boo-boys at the Walkers bowl (they are a pretty fickle bunch!) before winning them over. After mising much of last season through injury, Kisnorbo was reportedly "disappointed" at being released by Leicester and stated he was desperate to prove them wrong and remain in the Championship. Reading the Leicester Mercury when he was released, there was a mixture of views but most were extremely complimentary about the player but believed Nigel Pearson had got it right as there were better centre-halves at Leicester. Concerns over his recent injury problems were another common theme.
I must admit I am more excited about this signing than the previous two. Kisnorbo appears to have an air of confidence about him, something I feel we have lacked in our two seasons so far in the third tier of English football and something we need on those horrible away trips when we need to grind out a result.
Whether this signing has implications on the fate of French defender Mathieu Baudry remains to be seen. The 21-year-old from Troyes played 80 minutes during Tuesday's disappointing 1-1 draw with Grimsby.
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