Marseille make Illan Meslier decision amid ‘enormous’ Leeds United discovery
Marseille have decided not to pursue Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier due to his high salary demands, according to L’Equipe.
The paper reported via its online edition on Thursday (July 11) that Marseille – backed by billionaire Frank McCourt [Forbes] – had considered Meslier among other candidates, including Brice Samba, Filip Jorgensen and Alvaro Valles.
Meslier’s experience playing under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds was appealing to the French club, but his “enormous salary”, comparable to Steve Mandanda’s peak pay, and his apparent hesitations about the local environment led to the decision.
The 24-year-old is contracted with the Whites until 2026.
Should Leeds United keep Illan Meslier?
Meslier has been a key player for Leeds since 2019, helping the Whites get promoted to the Premier League and making 107 appearances in the English top flight.
Now, with other teams showing an interest, there’s a big question: should Leeds keep him? Meslier’s salary is high, which is deterring even top European clubs from pursuing a deal.
This could be good news for the Elland Road outfit because losing such an experienced goalkeeper might hurt the team.
Karl Darlow could take over if Meslier leaves, but it’s a massive gamble. Leeds need to decide if getting money for Meslier now is better than keeping him for stability.
If no good offers come, keeping Meslier would be the best choice, making sure the team stays strong after a defensively sound campaign last time out.
Should a new deal not be in place by next summer, though, then it is a different matter entirely.
In other Leeds news, the club are set to block another first-team player from going to the Olympics this summer.
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