Illan Meslier knows he needs to leave Leeds United if he has is to have a realistic chance of playing first team football this season. The Frenchman has dropped down the pecking order at the club to find himself third choice behind new number one Lucas Perri and the man who finished last season in the number one position, Karl Darlow.
It was a fact reaffirmed by manager Daniel Farke only last week after Meslier was absent from the game with AC Milan, Farke saying; ”Karl is ahead of (Meslier) in the pecking order at the moment. He had a fantastic finish last season and also really good pre-season. So there’s no need for me to change the order."
It leaves the former Leeds starter with a huge uphill road ahead to play for the Whites first team again. It's for that reason there has been an expectation since the start of summer that Meslier would exit the club. But with just two weeks of the transfer window remaining it has been very quiet on that front. Until now, perhaps.
Recent days have seen whispers that a return to French football could be on the cards with some suggestions PSG and Lille were interested in the possibility of taking the goalkeeper, but those suggestions have so far not resulted in any approaches and offers.
Now, according to transfer news specialist Sacha Tavolieri, Meslier's hometown club Lorient have made contact with Leeds to enquire about the conditions of a potential transfer back to his former club who Leeds signed him from in 2020.
The Ligue 1 club may not be one of the big players in France, but would present Meslier with the emotional opportunity to return to where it all started.
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