Highlights
- Leeds United is open to selling Illan Meslier in January, with a potential price tag of £40m.
- Meslier has kept 31 clean sheets in 131 appearances and is praised for his defensive actions and passing accuracy.
- Losing Meslier would be a significant blow for Leeds as he played a key role in their promotion to the Premier League.
Leeds United are open to selling one of their regular first-team players in January alongside Marc Roca, and a new report has revealed the price that the club have valued him at should he leave Elland Road.
Who have Leeds United just signed?
Over the summer, Daniel Farke brought nine new players to the club in the form of Joel Piroe, Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, Glen Kamara and Karl Darlow on a permanent basis, whilst recruiting Djed Spence, Jaidon Anthony and Joe Rodon on loan, alongside Sam Byram on a free transfer.
At Elland Road, Tyler Adams and Rodrigo were the only two to depart for good, with the likes of Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra and Marc Roca being sent out temporarily, the latter sealing a switch to Real Betis, as per Transfermarkt, and it’s been reported that his move is likely to become permanent.
Despite the deadline having passed, Illan Meslier is another player that could be heading for the exit door in the new year having attracted significant interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid over the course of the past few months.
Chief executive Angus Kinnear recently confirmed that the French goalkeeper did have opportunities to leave, but the 23-year-old has himself admitted that he wanted to stay at the club because he felt responsible following relegation to the Championship.
Is Illan Meslier leaving Leeds?
According to Football Insider, Leeds are “relaxed about the prospect” of selling Meslier in January because they signed Darlow from Newcastle United over the summer with the view of him being their first-choice between the sticks.
The LS11 outfit had a “willingness” to move on the former before the September 1st deadline, but they failed to receive a suitable offer.
Previously, the shot-stopper had a £40m price tag placed on his head, though it’s unknown whether this is the fee that would be demanded at the start of the new year.
How many clean sheets has Illan Meslier kept?
During his time at Leeds, Meslier has kept 31 clean sheets from 131 appearances which doesn’t sound like a lot, but having previously been praised for making some “unreal” saves by journalist Graham Smyth, there’s so much more that he brings to the side.
The Lorient native, who is naturally left-footed, ranks in the 98th percentile for most defensive actions outside of his penalty area, showing that he’s not afraid to come out of his net and clear the danger away, but he’s also impressive with the ball at his feet.
The YPFC client has a 100% pass success rate for both his short and medium dispatches since the start of the current season, via FBRef, which highlights his calmness and composure when playing out from the back to his outfield teammates.
Furthermore, Meslier helped the club to achieve promotion to the Premier League back in 2019/20 so he knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the required level, therefore, it would be a huge blow to lose him in January.
