Illan Meslier exit: Graham Smyth shares what he knows about Leeds United exit
Leeds United haven’t made plans to sell Illan Meslier this month or bring in a new goalkeeper to replace him, according to Graham Smyth.
Writing in the Yorkshire Evening Post (8 January), Smyth admitted that he’d be “stunned” if Meslier was sold by the club before 3 February despite some glaring errors costing the Whites a victory at Hull City.
Daniel Farke has stuck by Meslier following previous blunders and is likely to do so again despite calls for the Frenchman to be dropped, and the Whites being linked with signing other highly-rated goalkeepers.
Smyth said: “I don’t believe Leeds have made any plans to sell Meslier this month and I would be stunned if he moved on in January.
“There are also currently no plans to go and get a goalkeeper – I’m quite sure that’s the line Farke will give us when we sit down with him on Thursday as well.”
Illan Meslier transfer plan to cost Leeds United beyond January
The Peacocks learned the hard way that at the top level of English football, standing still means going backwards, and they risk that also being the case in their push for the Premier League this season.
49ers Enterprises planning for a quiet January window would be a perfectly fine stance if United were several points clear at the top of the Championship, but as things stand their gap is just a single point.
That’s arguably down to Meslier given some of his high-profile mistakes this season, literally dropping two points (via the ball) into his own net at Sunderland in October prior to Saturday’s howlers at Hull.
Fixing the roof with the sun shining is something United’s hierarchy failed to do in 2021 after finishing ninth in the top-flight, sewing the seeds for the end of Marcelo Bielsa and their relegation two years later.
Avoiding the mistakes of the past could prove crucial to a promotion race which Leeds should arguably be well clear of already and the outcome of this season may depend on who plays between the sticks.
In other Leeds news, the Whites are hunting a Championship goal machine who could be the difference-maker for promotion.
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