Illan Meslier’s form was an unfortunate casualty of Leeds United’s slide towards the Premier League relegation zone this season. The Frenchman had undeniably been one of Leeds’ best over the first half of the campaign under Jesse Marsch.
Performances on the road against Liverpool and Newcastle United immediately spring to mind when considering the goalkeeper’s displays before the turn of the year, further establishing his status as one the Whites' most valuable and promising assets. However, his form fell off a cliff towards the back end of the campaign and as Leeds failed to find any sort of traction, his place in the side came under scrutiny.
As such, despite his early season heroics, Meslier finished the campaign on the bench and behind Joel Robles in the pecking order. It was one of Sam Allardyce’s first major decisions in the role and in truth, it was vindicated as Robles offered a degree of stability between the sticks.
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The Spaniard couldn’t do enough to prevent the Whites from finishing in the bottom three and given his contract is due to expire this month, his future at Elland Road is far from secure. The same can be said for Meslier, who is currently away on international duty with France under-21s.
Meslier is contracted by Leeds until the end of the 2025-26 season, but there are huge questions marks about his role in West Yorkshire and whether he’ll be sticking around in an attempt to help Leeds out of the Championship at the first time of asking. He’s been linked to Tottenham and Chelsea in recent days, with both clubs thought to be looking for new goalkeepers, but, speaking about his future, Meslier didn’t seem keen on the possibility of being a number two next season.
“It’s complicated when you get out of a situation that is ours,” he is quoted as saying to French radio station RMC. “We haven’t got a coach, our club is being bought by the 49ers so there are a lot of unknowns.
“For now, I have my contract until 2026 so officially I still belong. Afterwards, I will have to think about what is best for me, what project can be the best, whether that’s Leeds United or maybe another club.”
Pushed on the possibility of a move, he added: “That depends if it's to go and be on the bench. If it is, no, I’m not interested. If it is to be number one, yes, of course, we can’t say no.
“But the most important thing at 23 is to keep playing and to keep gaining experience to potentially go to another club later on where you'll be mentally ready. I prefer go to a less famous club but where I will have playing time than to a top European club where I am on the bench.”
Given his age, Meslier shouldn’t be in rush to make the move to a top end club and risk the possibility of seeing his career stagnate. In goalkeeping terms he is still someway short of his peak years and that move will come for him down the line if he can bounce back from his first real taste of adversity and find his way back towards upwards trajectory.
What he needs is regular game time now and, despite how the club’s Premier League season ended, it’s fair to suggest he will get that in the Championship, should he remain at Elland Road. It might not be at the level he wants to play at, but the second tier would provide a firm grounding to rebuild himself and rediscover his confidence after a real rough patch.
There’s no denying the talent he possesses. He’s shown that with regularity over the last few seasons and he was the established number one, prior to Allardyce’s ill-fated four game tenure because of it.
However, having lost his way in the Premier League, a fresh start in the Championship might be the best thing for him. Likewise, Leeds will surely be keen to give him the opportunity he needs to fix up in the second tier and repair the damage done to his market value.
Had the Frenchman carried his form through to the end of the top flight campaign and helped Leeds secure their survival, a hefty transfer fee may have been on the cards. He won’t command anywhere near as much as a Championship player right now, but a return to form boosts Leeds’ chances of promotion and his value would go through the roof in that instance.
Meslier should be considered a long-term project worth salvaging and, like Leeds as a club, a clean slate might just be the kiss of life he needs.
