MOT View: Bielsa must trigger option for Leeds teenager after brilliant display v Arsenal
Last night ‘s game against Arsenal was the first opportunity many Leeds United fans have had to see 19-year-old Illan Meslier in action.
He was given his senior debut after starring for the Under-23s since his move from FC Lorient last summer and looked absolutely brilliant.
His distribution received plaudits from the Leeds fans and from Danny Murphy on the BBC1 commentary, who said his passing was ‘tremendous’.
He also made some smart saves and controlled the ball well even when it was pinged to him with some force.
All in all, it was about as assured a debut as you could hope to see from a 19-year-old plunged into a game against Premier League opposition.
WhoScored gave him a 7.1 rating, the third-highest in the Leeds side.
According to WyScout, he completed all nine of his long passes and all 18 of his short passes, showing why Marcelo Bielsa rates him and why Leeds signed him.
He could be asked to step up to the first team if Kiko Casilla gets a ban for racist abuse following an incident in the Charlton game earlier in the season.
After last night’s display, we’re happy with that.
Looking more long-term, Meslier is on loan for the rest of the season but Leeds have an option to buy in place.
That’s according to the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth.
If we get promoted, that could mean Casilla as the number one and Meslier as his back-up and we’d be very pleased with that in the Premier League.
And, if Meslier can produce that sort of display on a regular basis, he might well be challenging for Casilla’s place before we expected.
We don’t know exactly how much Leeds can buy him for but it’s been said to be in the region of £4.5m.
What we do know is that Monaco made a €10m offer for Meslier last summer which was turned down. It looks like Leeds can really profit from that decision.
In other Leeds United news, Exclusive: Paul Robinson claims Leeds have a ‘real problem’ after Bielsa injury update