Premier League squads will be required to submit their 25-man Premier League squads in the next few days, and a new Leeds United update has hinted at the identity of Leeds’ 25th player.
The signing of James Justin is believed to have taken the number of players in Leeds’ squad to 24, and Leeds were trying desperately to make Harry Wilson their 25th on deadline day. But a move fell through.
That leaves a gap ahead of squads being submitted and it was unclear who would be given the spot by Daniel Farke. But now, an injury blow suffered by Leeds has cleared up who could well have nabbed 25.
It was reported on Tuesday evening that goalkeeper Lucas Perri is set to miss the next few weeks with an injury. Farke is yet to confirm this but is expected to do so in his press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Leeds’ 24-man squad without mystery no.25:
| Goalkeepers | Lucas Perri, Karl Darlow, Alex Cairns |
| Defenders | Jayden Bogle, James Justin, Jaka Bijol, Joe Rodon, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Pascal Struijk, Sam Byram, Gabriel Gudmundsson |
| Midfielders | Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, Anton Stach, Sean Longstaff, Ao Tanaka |
| Attackers | Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison, Noah Okafor, Dan James, Willy Gnonto, Lukas Nmecha, Joel Piroe, Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
Illan Meslier included in Leeds’ 25-man Premier League squad
Joe Donnohue, formerly of the YEP, reports that Perri is injured and Karl Darlow will replace him at Fulham on Saturday. Donnohue also reports that Illan Meslier will come in on the bench, above Alex Cairns.
There is still every chance that Meslier could leave. LeedsUnited.News understands RedBull have jumped to Meslier’s aid to try and find him a new club in countries where the transfer window remains open.
However, transfer expert Graeme Bailey told LeedsUnited.News this week that one option for Meslier was Trabzonspor in Turkey. But they have managed to do a deal for Manchester United stopper Andre Onana.
Could Leeds approach Meslier with same tactic as Bamford?
The striker saw his contract mutually terminated towards the end of the window. It is believed that Bamford will be on his way to America in due course, even if Bamford did hold talks over a move to Celtic.
Meslier finds himself in a similar position to Bamford. Also in the final year of his deal after six years at the club compared to Bamford’s seven. Any sale of Meslier would be pure Profit & Sustainability Rules profit.
But given Meslier is now set to watch on for the next four months and twiddle his thumbs, even if he is on the bench against Fulham, surely it makes sense to consider coming to an agreement over his contract?
Well, Bailey has told LeedsUnited.News that a release is unlikely, as Meslier still retains some sale value: “He’s not a bad egg, he isn’t a troublemaker. They won’t cancel his contract, still some value there.”
Moving forward, it seems Meslier will be a part of the 25-man squad and act as the club’s third-choice goalkeeper above Cairns. But it means Meslier will have a new number, after Perri took his no.1 shirt.
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