Leeds United have a decision to make on their goalkeeper position in the summer window, but Illan Meslier’s stance is that he intends to stay and fight for his place.
Daniel Farke placed a lot of faith in his starting goalkeeper this season when naming Illan Meslier as one of his vice captains behind new skipper Ethan Ampadu.
The Frenchman hasn’t exactly repaid Farke’s faith despite 20 clean sheets in 35 league games, and it begs the question of what the club might do in the summer window.
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Illan Meslier transfer exit stance revealed
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Having been shown plenty of backing from Farke at Elland Road, journalist Ben Jacobs believes that Meslier will be looking to stay at the club no matter what this summer.
He commented on the possibility of Meslier leaving the club when this season is over, stating that Meslier’s stance currently is to remain in West Yorkshire for the foreseeable:
“I think from Meslier’s point of view, he would like to stay as Leeds’ number one, and naturally be a Premier League goalkeeper”, Jacobs said to GiveMeSport.
“So the onus has now shifted on Leeds as to whether they’re comfortable with that or whether they want to keep Meslier, but still bring in competition in that number one spot.”
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Manchester United, Illan Meslier ‘interest’ update emerges
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While Leeds were in the top flight, Meslier was touted for moves across Europe’s elite, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and others all said to be in the running.
The Red Devils more recently were claimed by The Sun to be keeping tabs on Leeds’ first choice ‘keeper, with scout Tony Coton rating the 25-year-old highly.
However, TEAMtalk have reported this week that Man United’s previous interest in Meslier has died down due to his recent poor form in the Championship.
They instead have turned their attention to Burnley’s James Trafford, among other targets, to compete with Andre Onana.
Leeds need to already be considering Meslier replacement for this summer
The frustration of this season is how dominant we’ve been virtually across the board, and the fact we’ve not got the lead over second place to show for it.
Meslier has had some good patches of form this season, including the first half of February, but he’s also cost Leeds plenty of points outright.
With that in mind, the club are surely already looking over scouting reports across Europe for potential signings if the club are promoted, and even if they’re not.