He had the ‘promise’ of a 227-appearance Leeds United icon, now he’s set to walk out of Elland Road

Add as preferred source on Google

There could be many Leeds United players who exit Elland Road this summer with a major overhaul in mind.

It seems like behind the scenes, Daniel Farke and the 49ers aren’t messing about at Leeds.

The Premier League masterplan is hoping to be fulfilled with £150m of cut-price signings in mind for the Whites.

To do this though, PSR concerns will have to be matched, and a potential player who could help this is Mateo Joseph, as Joseph’s sale could contribute £42.5m.

This will balance out the books, but the sad reality is that one star will be leaving after showing so much ‘promise’.

Illan Meslier was told he had the ‘promise’ of Leeds United icon Mervyn Day

The unfortunate scenario of Illan Meslier being sold by Leeds is now slowly coming to fruition.

It’s been claimed that the likes of Galatasaray want Meslier, as the Frenchman’s exit from Elland Road was always likely.

But despite a shocking campaign under Farke, the 25-year-old does still have a platform to build on, so much so that in 2020, pundit and former Tottenham player Garth Crooks suggested something extraordinary about Meslier after Leeds beat Sheffield United 1-0 in September of that year.

Speaking for BBC Sport, Crooks said: “The more I saw of him, the better he got.

“I haven’t seen a Leeds keeper with this sort of promise since I first watched a young Mervyn Day 40 years ago.”

READ MORE: Habib Diarra gives hint on his preferred destination after Leeds United and Everton interest

Leeds thought they landed a bargain in Meslier during 20/21 season

With Meslier arriving permanently at Leeds in 2020 for a fee of £5m, there was plenty of excitement surrounding his capture.

This came after impressing in 2019 after his loan from Lorient, as the Frenchman was expected to be the next big thing.

His numbers during the 20/21 season certainly proved that, and to emulate an icon like Mervyn Day is highly impressive.

Unfortunately, as it’s known now, Meslier didn’t live up to the ‘promise’ as his exit looks to be sanctioned.

Eddie Gray thinks Meslier can reach the top, but for now, it’s looking likely he will embark on a new journey away from Leeds.