Bye-bye: Leeds now ready to sell £30,000-a-week ace who Farke called the “best”.
Leeds United look ready to sell a Daniel Farke regular who the Whites boss has previously called the “best”.
Leeds back on top of the Championship with five games to go
It was another eventful night in the Championship on Tuesday, with Leeds returning to the top of the table after their 1-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Dan James scored the winner early on, whereas Burnley were held by Derby County and Sheffield United fell to defeat at home to Millwall.
Karl Darlow kept his first clean sheet in the league for Leeds in what was his second start after replacing Illan Meslier.
The Frenchman has been a regular under Farke’s reign at Leeds, however, he decided to drop the goalkeeper after errors against Swansea City at the end of March.
Talking about the decision, Farke, who called Meslier the “best in the league” last year, said: “Obviously he was involved in both [Swansea] goals in the last game, and it was a shame because after the penalty save he was on his way to being man of the match.
“So it was clear we had to make a decision. And we had to make it early in the week, because in that position the players need clarity, and Karl [Darlow] needs the time to prepare. We had a pretty open, honest conversation. Of course he’s disappointed he won’t start. But he took it very professionally and he was still more disappointed about the Swansea game.”
Leeds have been linked with Chelsea’s Djordje Petrovic, Southampton’s Aaron Ramsdale and even Newcastle United’s Nick Pope, and it looks as if they are willing to cash in on their now number-two shot-stopper.
Leeds ready to sell Illan Meslier and are working on replacement
Talking to Football Insider, former scout Mick Brown has heard that Leeds are ready to sell Meslier this summer and are already “working” on a replacement.
“He isn’t going to be a part of their plans for the future. From what I hear, Leeds are going to listen to offers for him in the summer. Question marks have been raised about him throughout the season because he keeps making mistakes and it’s costing them dearly.
“It has to come to a point where the manager sits him down and says it’s not good enough. You look at the successful teams, they’ve all got a top-class goalkeeper, and that goes from the likes of Liverpool and Man City over the years to Burnley at the moment.
“So Leeds are going to see if they can raise some money from him, and then whatever they bring in will go towards signing a new goalkeeper. They’ve already been working to identify replacements, and they’ll know who might be available.”
On £30,000-a-week, Meslier is under contract at Elland Road until 2026, so this summer looks like the last chance the Whites can recoup some or all of the £5m they paid back in 2020.
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