Leeds United 'will try offload' Illan Meslier with Inter Milan, Rangers, Lorient and Como among clubs linked — Yorkshire Post 24/9/25
By Tom Coates
Leeds United will reportedly try offload Illan Meslier in
January - and he appears to have plenty of suitors.
The 25-year-old lost his grip on the number one spot at
Elland Road last season, suffering a demotion to an understudy role after a
series of blunders.
He was replaced by Karl Darlow for the Championship run-in,
who was then leapfrogged in the pecking order himself when Lucas Perri arrived
from Lyon.
Meslier is now the third-choice goalkeeper at Elland Road,
with a summer move away from West Yorkshire having failed to materialise.
According to TEAMtalk, Leeds will look to move the Frenchman
on when the winter transfer window opens in January.
There is believed to be plenty of interest in the stopper,
who was once regarded among the most exciting goalkeeping prospects in Europe.
Serie A giants Inter Milan are said to be leading the race,
while Valencia and his former club Lorient are thought to be in the mix.
Scottish outfit Rangers, who share owners with Leeds, are
thought to have kept tabs from a distance. Fiorentina, Rennes, Como,
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce have also been credited with interest.
In an exclusive interview with The Yorkshire Post earlier
this month, former England goalkeeper David James expressed his hope Meslier
would return to form and fulfil his potential.
He said: “The thing that's frustrated me with the Leeds
goalkeeping position is the fact that Meslier hasn't been the number one,
France's number one, and the best goalkeeper people have seen for years.
“I think back to his debut in the Premier League a few years
ago and he had all the credentials to be top drawer. I'd like to think he can
get his head round getting back into the first team and being the goalkeeper
I've hoped he will be.”
