Good Morning. It's Monday 9th September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Meslier wants exit clause Illan Meslier wants assurances that he'll be able to leave Elland Road next Summer if Leeds fail to return to the top flight, come next May! The 24yo shot-stopper is one of Leeds longer serving servants, having initially joined on loan during the Summer of 2019, then making the move permanent twelve months later, in a deal worth £5m. He replaced Kiko Casilla between the sticks whilst the Spaniard served an eight match ban for alleged racial abuse towards former West Brom forward Jonathan Leko, and with seven clean sheets from ten, never looked back. Lack of competition for the No1 jersey has meant that Meslier's position has never been put to the test, apart from a brief stint on the bench during the 22/23 season finale. His distribution and failure to command his penalty area at times have been a cause of concern to many, who would not be sorry had he left the club in the Summer. The former French U21 International wants a release clause inserted into his contract that would come into place if Leeds fail to win promotion. From his point of view, every other player worth his salt had that option, so why shouldn't he? According to Ben Jacobs: "The 49ers enterprise's approach is very much that their hands have been a bit tied contractually, and anyone that they negotiate with, they want to try and remove that clause. "But of course, from the player's point of view, if you knew the clause existed for others, or you signed a new long-term deal, and I think this is particularly the case, from what I hear, with Meslier. "The player may want to protect themselves against the fact that if Leeds don't go up, they're stuck on a long-term deal, and maybe they feel their development is elsewhere. So it's a balancing act." please log in to view this image Joseph refuses to rule out La Liga return Mateo Joseph was on the scoresheet for Spain U21's, grabbing the winner against Scotland on Friday night at the Tynecastle Stadium. Joseph, a rare Victor Orta find, had only been on the pitch for five minute when he popped up in the box to smash Sanchez's cross past Cieran Slicker. His latest contribution has seen the 20yo linked with a call-up to Luis De La Fuente's senior squad. He signed a contract extension in January, committing himself to the Whites until the Summer of 2028. His ever-growing list of admirers will have to dig deep if they are persuade Leeds to part with the former 'Racing Santander' youth prodigy. Even so, during a recent radio interview, Joseph kept his cards close to his chest, refusing to rule out a return to Spain. According to 'Onda Cero': “Spain is where I grew up. “And who knows whether I’ll be able to return in the future.” please log in to view this image
Morning all. Bailey peacock up to his old antics again last night. Amazed he makes a career as a professional keeper
Whether we go up or not, we need to be looking at better than Meslier, he costs us goals, yes he makes a few saves but non another keeper wouldn't be capable of making. You can see, his defence haven't got much confidence in him.
this… stick a release clause of a baguette and a slice of Brie and let him move on. Still loses his near post, still Dracula on crosses, still hit and miss on distribution, still parries shots back in front of goal instead of away from them. Every season he’s near the bottom of save % and xg against. All the fundamental issues he had - where we excused for his age - are still there. All keepers make howlers and make great saves… it’s just the basics he can’t do consistently in my humble opinion.
Cooper cost Sheff Utd £3m, good keeper. They are out there, God knows what these expert scouts we employ do all day
Can't agree with you on this one, for all the reasons Milky states above and not forgetting all the times he's been beaten at his near post. Poppadom hands springs to mind.
Afternoon all I agree we need better than Meslier. How many times is it one or two shots on target from the opposition and they score, happy to keep him as a number two in the PL if we go up I guess it depends on the release clause, if he is asking to be released if someone offers £20m it isn't happening anyway so let him have it
He's got a defence in front of him. We rarely concede shots on target. When we do, Meslier has a lower than average percentage at saving them. I believe his last man of the match was the win at Anfield and that was nearly 2 years ago. I get that we have to support the lads when they pull on the shirt but there are better options out there.
Problem is every team worth their salt have expert scouts as good or better than ours. Like everything else, when we empty a new scout or director of football we claim they're among the best in Europe. Ive no idea if our lot could replace Meslier with better for 3m but our transfer history suggests there's not a chance in hell of us managing it. Wed bring back some has been and the fans would spend a couple of seasons screaming for him to be included. Im just saying be careful what you wish for when wanting soup of Meslier
soup of Meslier = soup of the day I'm with you though, never have what you want and end up ordering something else.
Shout out to coach Jesse who 'masterminded' Canada's first win on US soil for over 60 years at the weekend. That aggressive press we all loved forcing two goals in a comfortable win. I'm sure you'd all like to offer your congratulations
Wouldn’t have needed promotion as we’d never have been relegated in the first place. jeez I must be bored if I’m fishing for Ristac