Leeds United must do everything to keep Illan Meslier
Leeds United have had a lot of defending to do this season with the second-season blues hitting the Whites harder than anyone anticipated.
No team in the Premier League has conceded more goals than Leeds but despite that, goalkeeper Illan Meslier has an impressive stat next to his name amongst the league’s other shot-stoppers.
The 22-year-old has actually made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League this season, as stated by the official Premier League Twitter account, with an eye-watering 118 saves.
That’s all well and good right now but his star performances between the sticks have attracted interest from elsewhere with Barcelona keen on signing the Frenchman in the summer [Mundo Deportivo].
Xavi has Meslier on a five-man shortlist for the number one jersey at the Nou Camp alongside Bartlomiej Dragowski (Fiorentina), Yassine Bounou, Bono (Seville), Maarten Vandevoordt (Genk) and Alban Lafont (Nantes).
It would be a great compliment to the football club if he was to leave for the Spanish sun but he would also leave a very big hole in the Leeds team that would be tough to fill.
Kristoffer Klaesson did admirably away at Wolve when he had to replace the injured Meslier in the second half but it is a huge gamble to put every ounce of faith into an academy goalkeeper with little experience.
With no other shot-stopper around the club, Leeds must do anything and everything they can to convince him to stay at Elland Road for another season at the very least.
If the sale does go through though, they will have to expect to pay through the nose for a new number one with everyone knowing that they will be desperate the later into the window it drags on.
In other Leeds United news, hear what Kasper Schmeichel’s immediate thoughts were when he joined the Whites earlier in his career.