Leeds United might return to the Premier League for the first time in three years in a matter of months.
With just one loss in their last 12 league games, Daniel Farke‘s team is presently leading the Championship.
Even though the Whites have had an incredible season thus far and are in a strong position to return to the Premier League, if they don’t resolve one major problem in January, they risk being held back and remaining in the Championship for another season.
Goalie Illan Meslier‘s recent performances have drawn criticism, and while the Frenchman has shown that he can pull off amazing performances on multiple times, there are concerns over whether he is dependable and consistent enough to play for a team that wins promotion.
In 2024–2025, Meslier is performing poorly.
Since moving permanently to Leeds from Lorient in 2020, Meslier has undoubtedly made an impression on occasion, especially during the Whites’ three-year Premier League run.
But with his inconsistent play so far this season, he has emerged as a major worry for Farke’s team.
Meslier may have contributed to two of Hull’s three goals in Saturday’s 3–3 draw with Hull City, which was a perfect illustration of it. After barely five minutes, he sprinted recklessly off his goalline and was given a late lifeline by Hull after being lobbed by Abu Kamara for the Tigers’ first goal and then palming a looping header straight to Joao Pedro for the second.
Prior to his clumsy performance against Hull, he had a run of three clean sheets in four games, which may be a good reflection of his season thus far.
With just 19 goals against in 26 games, Leeds has the third-lowest goals against total in the division. They are by no means a poor defensive team. But in contrast, Burnley, their current closest opponents, have only given up nine goals, while Sheffield United has only given up 17.
Although a team’s defensive record is always determined by much more than simply the caliber of their goalie, Meslier hasn’t always helped Leeds in 2024–2025.
Meslier has had a difficult season despite having top-tier experience and ranking among the best goalkeepers in the division.
Although his 14 clean sheets, which is the second-highest total in the Championship, appear to be quite outstanding on paper, Leeds‘ strength as a team may be more to blame than Meslier.
With 1.4 saves per 90, Meslier has the fewest saves of any Championship goalie. This could be partly explained by Leeds’s habitual dominance, which keeps them from taking many shots.
But if you dig a little deeper, you can see that Meslier has problems. With a save percentage of just 66.1%, the Frenchman outperforms just six other Championship goalkeepers.
In a similar vein, Meslier is now giving up far more goals than he ought to, with his goals prevented standing at a dismal -1.7%.
Due to his mistakes, the Frenchman has cost his club points several times this season, which might be expensive in a promotion race that could come down to the last minute.
In January, Leeds might try to move Meslier.
Leeds will want to make every effort to avoid having to go to the play-offs this time around after experiencing loss at Wembley at the end of the last campaign.
Leeds may be eager to let go of Meslier in order to pursue a new number one in January.
If a good offer is made, Leeds is reportedly willing to sell the 24-year-old. Alan Nixon claims that Manchester United is eager to acquire Meslier to their goalkeeping staff in order to compete with Andre Onana, who is now ranked first.
Farke would have to make an intriguing choice if Meslier were to depart.
Karl Darlow, who has only made five appearances for Leeds in the last two seasons but has a wealth of top-flight experience with Newcastle United, might be his go-to backup.
If that doesn’t happen, Leeds might have to look for a new number one in the winter transfer window, which could be a risky situation considering how little leeway there is often in January.
Leeds will at least have financial resources on their side if they do end up needing to add a new goalkeeper, since any move for Meslier would probably significantly increase the amount collected by a number of noteworthy sales last summer.
Although it’s unclear if those adjustments will be made, the French goalie’s unreliability is currently a major problem that could cost the Whites promotion.
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