‘Huge statement’ – Sky Sports pundit claims rarely-seen Leeds player ‘deserves a chance’

David Prutton is surprised that Marcelo Bielsa has not handed Illan Meslier a chance to start in the Leeds United goal amid Kiko Casilla’s poor run of form.

Casilla, 33, made a calamitous error in the 1-1 draw at Brentford earlier this week when he failed to control a backpass by Liam Cooper and gifted Said Benrahma with a simple chance to score.

Leeds would have probably won that match if Casilla hadn’t made that error – a statement that is being said more and more often as the season progresses.

Bielsa has already confirmed that Casilla will remain in goals when Leeds face Bristol City at Elland Road on Saturday but Sky Sports pundit Prutton cannot get his head around the Argentine’s decision making.

Meslier, 19, has made just one appearance since joining Leeds on loan from Lorient in the summer when he impressed in the FA Cup defeat against Arsenal.

Ex-Leeds player Prutton reckons it is about time that Meslier gets a chance to build on his display at the Emirates in the Championship.

“Casilla has not exactly covered himself in the best light of late and it’s a huge statement dropping a goalkeeper,” Prutton said on the Yorkshire Evening Post website.

“But I am surprised that Marcelo has not given Meslier another chance because we are not talking about errors that are debatable.”

He added: “I am not really surprised that Marcelo’s stubbornness has led to him saying he will stick with Casilla and say this is how we are doing this.

“But it is surprising when you have got a keeper like Meslier waiting in the wings because he looks good and he deserves a chance.”

Bielsa’s methods are not exactly like any other manager in the Championship and if it was any other manager in charge of Leeds, Casilla would have probably been dropped a couple of weeks back.

While Bielsa has done a fantastic job at Elland Road, is it about time we start to question his stubbornness when it comes to team selection?

How many more mistakes is Casilla going to make before he gets dropped?

Will he ever get dropped?

It is fair to have concerns about the way Bielsa is managing this team at the moment, especially after winning just one of the last seven Championship matches.

In other Leeds United news, Phil Thompson has predicted the clash against Bristol City.