Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier was left at home as Lucas Perri took his No.1 shirt against AC Milan.
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke's post-game comments in Dublin have suggested that Illan Meslier has slipped to the bottom of the goalkeeping pecking order.
The Frenchman was not present at the Aviva as Leeds held AC Milan to a 1-1 draw in a game that gave Lucas Perri his first minutes between the sticks for Leeds. A summer signing from Lyon, the giant Brazilian is regarded as Farke's first-choice keeper for the Premier League season and has recovered from a hamstring niggle that he brought with him from the Ligue 1 side. Karl Darlow, who replaced Meslier in goal for the final games of the Championship campaign, played the second half.
Farke's goalkeeping trio was made up by Alex Cairns, who was signed to be third choice in almost a player-coach role. Cairns was also with the travelling party in Dublin and helped warm up both Perri and Darlow before the game, alongside keeper coach Ed Wootten.
Asked about Meslier's whereabouts Farke said: "Well, we have decided today just to play two goalkeepers. And for that it was not necessary for him to travel with us. Lucas Perri is not there at 100 per cent yet but I wanted to at least give him the experience of the first 45 minutes. Karl is in the pecking order at the moment ahead of Illan because he had a fantastic finish last season and a really good pre-season. So there's no need for me right now to change the pecking order in this terms. We then Lucas and Karl would play this last and final test."
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Farke was pressed further on Meslier's situation and Perri's wearing of the number one shirt at a sold out Aviva Stadium. Though he insisted Perri had no guarantees of the starting role against Everton, noted the £14m transfer fee shelled out for the Brazilian this summer. He again referenced Darlow's place in the queue and his own traditional preferences.
"Of course, Lucas is also a player who is likely to play a role for us, and for that, we decided then just to give him the number one shirt," said Farke. "It's not a decision against Illan, it's more a decision for the confidence of Lucas, and to make him welcome, and also to show why we've signed him. For the day, I'm a bit old fashioned. In my generation the starting XI wore numbers from one to 11 and to have the number one not travelling with us on the shirt I would have struggled a little bit. So we decided to give it to Lucas."
Meslier's future has been up in the air at Leeds since the end of last season. The relatively small fee paid for him when he joined the club means he would represent pure profit and there is no longer a realistic chance of game time at the newly-promoted Premier League side.
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