Illan Meslier’s future has been plunged into doubt after another catastrophic Leeds United display on Saturday afternoon as the Yorkshire side surrendered a two-goal lead at Hull City.
The Frenchman was arguably at fault for all three of Hull’s goals. Tony Dorigo said Max Wober was out of position but Meslier was caught miles out of his goal and lobbed by Abu Kamara to give Hull the lead.
Hull’s second was Meslier’s biggest blunder. He dropped the ball at Joao Pedro’s feet as Hull reduced the 3-1 deficit to one goal, before Kamara got his second with a shot Meslier failed to stop from going in.
It is not the first time Meslier has made errors. His howler at Sunderland cost Leeds three points in injury time, while he should have stopped Brad Potts’ goal for Preston. All three ended in draws instead of wins.
Daniel Farke performs U-turn and changes Illan Meslier stance
Reports earlier this week said that Leeds would listen to offers for Meslier if they arrived this month. The Frenchman, despite errors has been linked with big clubs as Rennes, Arsenal and Man United eye Meslier.
Jon Newsome said he didn’t think Meslier would be sold in January, but TeamTalk now say that Farke has changed his mind. He had planned on keeping Meslier before replacing him at the end of the campaign.
But now, TeamTalk say Farke has performed a u-turn and is now ready to replace him this month. Leeds have been linked with lots of new players but interestingly, have not been touted with a new goalkeeper.
The stats show Leeds need better than Meslier to get promoted
Some Leeds fans who remain in defence of Meslier will point to the fact that he has 14 clean sheets in 26 Championship games. A solid return, given he won 19 last season and in doing so, won the golden glove.
But it doesn’t take much to delve a little deeper and realise, Meslier is miles behind his Championship counterparts. Burnley have James Trafford while Sheffield United’s new signing Michael Cooper is shining.
| Name | Club | Games | Clean sheets | Goals conceded | Save percentage |
| 1. James Trafford | Burnley | 25 | 16 | 9 | 85.0% |
| 2. Michael Cooper | Sheffield United | 24 | 14 | 15 | 79.2% |
| 3. Aynsley Pears | Blackburn | 25 | 10 | 23 | 78.1% |
| 4. Alex Palmer | West Brom | 26 | 11 | 21 | 76.9% |
| 5. Viktor Johansson | Stoke | 26 | 8 | 32 | 75.4% |
| – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18. Illan Meslier | Leeds United | 26 | 14 | 19 | 66.1% |
Anthony Patterson’s form at Sunderland continues to catch the eye of Premier League clubs while Viktor Johansson is seen as one of the Championship’s best players, boasting a joint-first FotMob rating of 7.55.
Johansson, Patterson, Trafford and Cooper boast the best save percentage stats in the Championship. But Meslier is the 18th-best in England’s second tier, saving just 66.1% of shots and Leeds do need better.
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