Illan Meslier reveals reason for staying at Leeds United this season
Illan Meslier wants to help Leeds United get back to “where they belong” after a horrible relegation to the Championship last season.
Leaving Elland Road became a very real possibility for the 23-year-old after Leeds’ drop down to the second tier. However, with his confidence back, Meslier is determined to lead his team to promotion back to the Premier League this season.
The 2022/23 season was tough for everyone involved with Leeds, but even more so for the man having to pick the ball out of his own net 67 times in 34 appearances and being replaced by Joel Robles for the last few games of the campaign.
“It wasn’t easy, to be honest,” he told LeedsLive on 22 November. “It was a tough season for everyone and I can’t deny it was not that difficult, but in my mindset, it’s just I’m learning.
“For sure, it wasn’t easy being relegated with Leeds, but it is a part of football. It can happen and that’s why I’m still here. I want to be promoted with Leeds because, to be honest, the Premier League is our place. That’s why I want to give everything I can to help the club to be promoted again.”
Meslier was linked with a move away from West Yorkshire earlier this year, with The Sun reporting on 18 February that he was eyed up as a replacement for David De Gea at Manchester United.
When asked whether he thought about transferring away, he replied: “Of course. You have to put everything on the table and think what can be good, what can be not good, but what was good was the reorganisation of the club and the manager who came in.
“Leaving when the club is relegated is difficult, but I didn’t want to be selfish. Sometimes you have to be selfish, but it wasn’t myself to do this.
“So it’s just like, let’s see you do one season, try everything to be promoted and after you never know what can happen. I want to do everything I can to help Leeds to promote again because our place is in the Premier League.”
Choosing the easy way out
Following relegation, many Leeds players decided to leave the club on loan rather than stay to resurrect the fallen club, including the likes of Diego Llorente, Brendan Aaronson, Marc Roca and Luis Sinisterra.
And it was expected that Meslier would be one of the 18 players that left the club, either permanently or on loan.
Being dropped by Sam Allardyce for the first time since being given his debut by Marcelo Bielsa in 2020, mixed with conceding 198 goals in 107 Premier League appearances in total, will not have done the young goalkeeper’s confidence any good.
That, compounded by losing his starting position for France U21s, it is understandable how his whole world could have gone into a complete spiral.
However, the maturity of the ‘keeper has seen him regain his position under Daniel Farke, starting all 16 of Leeds’s league games so far, keeping six clean sheets and making 29 saves.
Meslier has been reborn this season, which would mean that staying at Elland Road this summer was the correct choice for all parties, while he may also accomplish his aim of getting the Whites back to the Premier League.
In other Leeds United news, journalist Alan Nixon has raged at the latest news from Premier League club Everton, with a Whites legal claim issued.