Leeds United are in the hunt for more attacking players following the arrival of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and are expected to add more new faces before the end of the window. However, the club are also working on deals to move on a few players in the coming days.
The former Everton striker completed a move to join Leeds on a free transfer last week and is eligible to be in the squad against his former side at Elland Road on Monday night. He rejected an eye-watering offer from Turkey to move to Elland Road and continue to play Premier League football.
Most Read on The Leeds Press
However, Leeds have a few headaches to solve before the end of the transfer window on September 1st. The club are in the hunt for a few more attacking players, but they need a few sales as well.
Patrick Bamford is still contracted to Leeds despite Daniel Farke making it clear that the striker is not part of his plans and has been ousted from the first-team squad.
And Illan Meslier is yet to find a new club despite Lucas Perri replacing him as the first-choice goalkeeper this summer.
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United goalkeepers?
Lorient manager drops Illan Meslier transfer hint ahead of probable Leeds United exit
Meslier has been part of Leeds’ pre-season preparations, but it has been clear that he is no longer the first-choice goalkeeper at Elland Road.
Perri is the undisputed number one, and the Frenchman has been almost certain to move on from the club in the ongoing transfer window.
Lorient have opened talks with Leeds to secure a deal to take the goalkeeper back to the club before the September 1st transfer deadline.
Leeds signed Meslier from Lorient in 2020 for a deal worth £5m, and the goalkeeper could be returning to his former club, which got promoted to Ligue 1 at the end of last season.
Lorient head coach Olivier Pantaloni revealed that the club’s attempt to bring in a new goalkeeper is progressing and conceded that he would have liked to sort it out earlier in the transfer window.
“This is progressing, but we aren’t there yet”, the Lorient head coach told Ouest-France.
“I would have liked that to have come sooner. We would have liked that sorted for the first day, but we are adapting.”
A return to Lorient would suit Meslier
Meslier was dropped towards the end of last season after several costly mistakes, which threatened to derail Leeds’ promotion bid, and since then, his departure has been considered a given.
The death knell on his time at Leeds arrived once the club signed Perri, who is seen as a massive upgrade on the Frenchman at Elland Road.
The 25-year-old is still young for a goalkeeper and has time to rekindle his career, away from the spotlight of Leeds and the Premier League.
A return to Lorient would suit him. He would get to return to familiar surroundings in his homeland, where he can again build back his reputation.
There is still a top goalkeeper there, but he needs to get away from the intense gaze that Leeds and the Premier League are subjected to.
Related Topics