French journalist delivers transfer boost to Leeds United
French journalist Arnaud Huchet has delivered a boost to the chances of Leeds United signing Illan Meslier on a permanent deal.
Talking to LeedsLive, Huchet was asked if Meslier had a future at parent club FC Lorient.
He said, “I think that Illan will not stay at FC Lorient. He left offended and angry we did not trust him and we put him [in with] a competitor (Paul Nardi) a few days before the resumption of the Ligue 2 championship.”
Huchet said something even more key about Meslier’s replacement Nardi.
On Lorient fans, Huchet said, “They recognise the current FC Lorient goalkeeper, Nardi, is better than Meslier, and the club made a good choice by buying Nardi.”
That really makes it sound like there’s no way back for Meslier.
That’s great news for Leeds.
Leeds fans are high on Meslier after his stunning debut in the FA Cup against Arsenal, and two clean sheets in the Championship.
It was particularly bad luck for Meslier that the season was suspended just as he was given his run in the first team.
That came after Kiko Casilla was banned for eight games for racist abuse.
There’s been no word from Leeds about the future of Casilla at the club but they haven’t deviated from their position of support from the player.
That could mean that Meslier will be playing for the gloves, with Casilla under contract until 2023.
One sticking point over signing Meslier could be player valuations in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Billions could be wiped off player values in Europe and we’re not sure how that would affect players where clubs have a set option in place.
Leeds have a £5m option to sign Meslier, however the club could still see that as a fair price for a promising young goalkeeper even in the current environment.
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