All you need to know on Illan Meslier and Lucas Perri exits as Leeds deadline hours away
The goalkeeper position is becoming an issue for Leeds United this season.
Daniel Farke has been chopping and changing his number one, with Lucas Perri and Karl Darlow taking turns between the sticks for the Peacocks.
For Illan Meslier, he has yet to play a single minute in any competition this season and has been playing the role of third-choice goalkeeper.
Both Perri and Meslier have been linked with moves away, with Besiktas in Turkey interested in signing one of the shot-stoppers.
The Turkish window closes at 9pm GMT on Friday, and here is the latest on the Elland Road pair.
Latest on Illan Meslier’s Leeds future
Meslier has been at Leeds since 2019 and has spent a large part of his time under contract in LS11 as the number one at the club.
This season, things have changed dramatically, and he has been unable to get a look-in by his manager.
With Meslier falling completely out of Farke’s hand, you would suspect the Frenchman to be the most likely of the two goalkeepers to leave the club.
Over the last week, Besiktas had been looking at signing Meslier, and the Turkish club felt it was an ‘easy’ deal to complete.
However, Farke has personally stopped Meslier’s move to Besiktas, with the Leeds head coach wanting him to stay for the rest of the season.
Right now, it looks as if there will be no winter transfer for the 25-year-old.
Meslier’s contract does expire in the summer, so Leeds may have missed their chance to recoup some money by blocking his exit.
Latest on Lucas Perri’s Leeds future
Perri was signed in the summer, with the Brazilian taking up the mantle as the club’s number one goalkeeper.
However, the move has been far from a success, with the 28-year-old failing to impress after signing in the summer.
As seen in the Sofascore graphic below, there has not been a great amount of difference between Perri and Darlow this term.
Once again, Besiktas registered interest in Perri, and the Istanbul side were weighing up which of the Leeds shot-stoppers to go for.
Besiktas did approach Leeds for Perri, but those approaches were rejected.
As with Meslier, Leeds have given Besiktas an emphatic ‘no’, with Perri also unlikely to leave the club this window.
The late moves for both goalkeepers, and the fact the English window is closed, make a transfer for either extremely difficult.
The Peacocks would be unable to sign a replacement if either were to be sold. However, it would not be a surprise to see either Meslier or Perri at Elland Road next season.
Overall, though, they are both unlikely to leave today.