Illan Meslier has to go amid ridiculous Leeds United reveal, Gretar Steinsson has no choice
Leeds United have to consider moving on from Illan Meslier in order to secure promotion this season.
The long-time number one at Elland Road has delivered a continuation of sub-par performances this term so far which could give Gretar Steinsson a ruthless decision to make.
Even discounting his costly error against Sunderland on 4 October, Meslier’s expected goals [xG] conceded ratio of 8.2 to nine let in has been called out by @AllDayLUFC on X [6 November], who criticised him in the defeat against Millwall to a mixed fan response.
Illan Meslier has failed to convince for Leeds United in 2024-25
Meslier and his manager Daniel Farke alike will be aware of the need to elevate his performances back to the level he has previously shown, in both the Championship and the Premier League.
Although not directly at fault for Japhet Tanganga’s winner for Millwall on Wednesday night, the Frenchman has lowered confidence in him from his defence by a statistic of just 19 saves in 14 league games [FBRef].
This can be attributed to a defence who have conceded just nine goals so far this term in the league, but Meslier ranks just 10th in terms of saves to shots on target faced, keeping out 74%.
By comparison, leading stoppers Michael Cooper (Sheffield United) and Lawrence Vigouroux (Swansea City) have thwarted 85.7% and 81% of their shots faced respectively.
As shown via Fotmob data, the past 365 days’ action has seen the 24-year-old excel playing in a strong Leeds team in terms of clean sheets and goals conceded, performing as a defensive unit better than 96% of clubs in the Championship and similar standard European leagues.
However, there is a stark contrast when it comes to his aforementioned safe ratio which is superior to just 4% of fellow goalkeepers at his level of competition.
And his distribution lists even lower, with a long ball accuracy of only 29.6% in the league this season, which when spread back over the past year has ranked above just 2% of other ‘keepers.
Meslier was shown a great deal of faith by Farke who continues to opt for his services over that of the experienced Karl Darlow, but Steinsson will be mindful what they can get for a stopper with his age profile and linked experience, with 18 months left on his deal come January.
In other Leeds news, Wayne Rooney has shared his latest admission on the Whites.
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