Leeds United could be set to lose ‘world-class’ Illan Meslier after ‘fantastic’ display v Sunderland
After seven Championship games without a loss, Leeds United tasted defeat for the first time since October against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Jobe Bellingham’s second-half strike was the difference between the two sides on Tuesday 12 December as Daniel Farke’s side failed to take the opportunity to close the gap between them and the automatic promotion places.
While the result and the overall performance left the Leeds supporters who made the trip to the North East fairly underwhelmed, one player who came away with plenty of credit was Illan Meslier who put in an excellent performance between the Whites’ posts.
The Frenchman’s stop to deny Jenson Seelt earned him plenty of plaudits, with Kevin Phillips labelling the save “world-class” [Sky Sports Main Event, 12 December] while Jobi McAnuff was stunned by Meslier, suggesting it was a “fantastic bit of goalkeeping” [Sky Sports News, 12 December].
Meslier hasn’t been the most consistent presence in the Leeds United goal this season, but the 23-year-old was back to his excellent best on Tuesday night and while that will be a boost to the Whites’ promotion hopes, it could also increase the chances of him leaving Elland Road.
There are European giants reportedly interested in signing the 23-year-old, with Bayern Munich one team monitoring the Frenchman ahead of the January transfer window [Sport.FR, 8 December].
On top of that Inter Milan have repeatedly identified the Leeds stopper as a “possibility” as the Italian giants look to strengthen their goalkeeping ranks and believe Meslier has shown “great promise” during his time at Elland Road [Marco Barzaghi, 1 December].
Farke and the Leeds supporters would have been happy to see their number one return to his fantastic best at the Stadium of Light, but if he maintains this good form, it could well see either Bayern or Inter act on their reported interest.
It would likely take a big fee to tempt Leeds into allowing their number one to depart midway through the season, but if any club can afford that sort of transfer fee, it would be one of Europe’s biggest sides.
Having a settled and in-form keeper can be the difference between finishing in the playoffs and returning to the Premier League automatically and it would be a huge blow to the Whites’ hopes if Meslier was to depart Elland Road in January.
Hopefully, the Frenchman can repeat his heroics against Sunderland repeatedly this season without attracting too much interest from other clubs around Europe and remain at Elland Road at least until the end of the season.
In other Leeds United news, one journalist has suggested that the Whites will be targeting two loan signings this January