Illan Meslier’s adventure in Yorkshire is coming to an end as Leeds approaches made and escape plan initiated
Leeds United have reportedly received two approaches for goalkeeper Illan Meslier ahead of the January transfer window.
Meslier hasn’t played a single game for Leeds this season, with Daniel Farke making Lucas Perri his new number one goalkeeper and Karl Darlow his second choice.
The 25-year-old Frenchman joined Leeds from Lorient in 2019, initially on loan, before rising through the ranks at Elland Road, becoming the main man in between the sticks and playing 214 times for the Whites in all competitions, winning promotion to the Premier League twice.
However, Belgian news outlet Voetbal Krant has now reported that Meslier‘s “adventure in Yorkshire is coming to an end”.
Anderlecht and Club Brugge make moves to sign Illan Meslier
Anderlecht have already been linked with Meslier, but Voetbal Krant now claims that Club Brugge are looking to sign the Leeds goalkeeper.
It is understood that the two Belgian giants have approached Leeds with enquiries about Meslier, who Paul Robinson tipped to win a call-up to the France senior team in 2023.
However, the suggestion from Belgium is that signing Meslier won’t be straightforward because any deal would be “relatively expensive”, while Anderlecht already have ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet as their number one.
| Season | League | Apppearances | Goals conceded | Clean sheets |
| 2019-20 | Championship | 10 | 4 | 7 |
| 2020-21 | Premier League | 35 | 52 | 11 |
| 2021-22 | Premier League | 38 | 78 | 5 |
| 2022-23 | Premier League | 34 | 67 | 5 |
| 2023-24 | Championship | 46 | 39 | 21 |
| 2024-25 | Championship | 39 | 27 | 21 |
| 2025-26 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 |
According to transfermarkt, Meslier’s market value is £12.3million.
The Leeds goalkeeper only has eight months left on his contract, though, meaning that clubs outside of England can try to sign him on a pre-contract basis in January.
If that happens, and he agrees to move on, Leeds would lose Meslier on a free transfer next summer.
The most ideal course of action for the Whites is to cash in for a reduced fee in January, but the fee they’re demanding right now seems too high for Anderlecht and Brugge.
- Read more: Illan Meslier turned heads with what he did behind the scenes after last week’s win over West Ham
What Daniel Farke has said about Illan Meslier’s situation
Farke left Meslier out of the Leeds squad that played AC Milan in Dublin in a pre-season friendly.
When he explained the reason why Meslier was missing in the Republic of Ireland, Farke essentially confirmed then that the former France Under-21s international has dropped down his pecking order, behind Perri and Darlow.
“Meslier was more or less number two behind Karl. Karl doesn’t give me any reason to change the pecking order. Perri comes in full of confidence having qualified for European competition (with Lyon),” said Farke after that draw with AC Milan in August.
“[Change to give number one jersey to Perri] – It’s not a decision against Illan, it’s more also for the confidence of Lucas to make him welcome and why we signed him.”
Farke hasn’t addressed any speculation about Meslier’s future since the season started.
However, if more rumours like this keep on emerging, it won’t be long before the Leeds manager is forced to share an update on the club’s former number one.
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