Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson has named the one out-of-favour player he is surprised is still at the club.
Leeds United have struggled to name a consistent number one in recent years, with form and fitness giving Daniel Farke a problem.
Illan Meslier was dropped midway through the Championship season after a string of high-profile errors proved costly, being replaced by Karl Darlow, who helped steady the ship at the back as Leeds claimed the title.
Lucas Perri was brought in from Lyon, but injury has limited the Brazilian to just three appearances to date, with Darlow being handed a run in the Premier League in his absence.
Perri is expected to return to the Leeds side after the international break, and, as a result, former Leeds shotstopper Paul Robinson believes Meslier needs to move on after finding himself as the third-choice at the club.
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Paul Robinson is surprised by Illan Meslier’s struggles
Speaking on the An Echo of Glory podcast, Robinson admitted that he is surprised to see how Meslier has fallen out of favour at Leeds after a strong start to his career.
Meslier’s form under former head coach Marcelo Bielsa saw him pushing for selection in the France squad, but he looks a shadow of his former self now. Robinson said, “Meslier’s confidence is shot. Illan Meslier is a top young goalkeeper. I think people forget how young he actually is.
“Marcelo Bielsa gave Meslier an opportunity, and he’s played a lot of top-flight games. Once Sam Allardyce came in in the last few weeks of the Premier League season to try and save Leeds, the first thing he did was drop Meslier because you could see that his confidence was shot.
“He made a lot of high-profile errors, and the weight of the jersey at that time was too much for him.
“He was a young goalkeeper who, I liken it a little bit to myself, who’s never been scarred. When you’re a good quality young goalkeeper, everyone’s talking about you and your career is always on an upward trajectory, and you never have any kind of bad press or make a mistake.
He added: “I’m very surprised, in all honesty, that he’s still at the club because I think he needed a fresh start. I think the club have obviously moved on from him. But I think there is a top-quality goalkeeper there. He’s on the fringes of the French squad.
“There’s a top-quality goalkeeper there whose confidence has just been shot to pieces, needs a fresh start, needs a new challenge, and I’m sure will go on again and do what he did for Leeds under Bielsa.”
Karl Darlow struggled in Leeds United defeat
Meslier watched on from the bench for Leeds as they fell to a defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, with Darlow handed a start by Farke.
However, with Perri now nearing a return, Darlow produced his worst performance since his return to the Leeds side, according to FotMob, in a battling defeat.
Darlow conceded two goals from a combined xGOT faced (expected goals from shots on target) of 0.6, meaning he conceded -1.4 goals. His distribution was also poor, connecting with just five of 19 long balls attempted and maintaining a pass accuracy of 62%.
The Leeds keeper was unfortunate that both goals took a deflection. However, he will be disappointed not to have done better, particularly on Spurs’ first goal.
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