Leeds United’s defeat to Burnley turned a solid start to the season into an average one.
The Whites have picked up eight points from their opening five matches and though it’s a slightly better start than 12 months ago, it’s still a tad underwhelming.
Daniel Farke has kept a pretty settled starting XI so far with the three positions behind the striker the only area he has made any changes, though that may need to change at Cardiff City.
Ao Tanaka in for Ilia Gruev is an alteration that feels like a possibility, while both Sam Byram and Isaac Schmidt will be pushing to come in for Jayden Bogle.
But there is another position which perhaps hasn’t come under as much scrutiny which is already proving to be a weak point.
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Leeds man Illan Meslier already struggling statistically this season
Leeds have been pretty solid at the back so far this season with only four goals conceded in their first five games, three of which came on the opening day against Portsmouth.
However, considering how poor Portsmouth have been on their return to the Championship, that failure to beat them is looking more and more costly.
Illan Meslier was pretty strongly to blame that day due to the ease in which their first goal went in, and the statistics are already reflecting his struggles.
Only seven goalkeepers in the division have a worse goals prevented total than him, with Meslier‘s currently sat at -1.05.
Goals prevented is a statistic that predicts how many goals a goalkeeper would be expected to concede, based on the quality of the shots that they faced.
Meslier was also one of the worst in that regard last season, too, and it shows that he simply has not improved, which makes it an immediate weak point for Leeds in that push for promotion.
Leeds have conceded four goals from their 12 shots on target in the Championship, which means that one in every three goes in. £5m Meslier has to find a way to pull off more saves at key moments.
Meslier wants release clause in new Leeds deal
Meslier is one of those in the squad where Leeds have a decision to make regarding a new contract with his current one expiring in 2026.
According to Ben Jacobs, though, Meslier wants a release clause in any new deal he signs, and if true, then Leeds should do it so there’s a comfortable price which he can be sold quickly for.
He said: “From the player’s point of view, if you knew the clause existed for others, or you signed a new long-term deal, and I think this is particularly the case, from what I hear, with Meslier.
“The player may want to protect themselves against the fact that if Leeds don’t go up, they’re stuck on a long-term deal, and maybe they feel their development is elsewhere. So it’s a balancing act.”
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