Leeds United employee shares ‘big’ Illan Meslier claim as pre-season footage emerges
Noel Whelan has claimed Leeds United star Illan Meslier has grown into one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers despite a tough 2021-22 campaign.
The former Whites striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 22-year-old will have learned an “awful lot” from the Elland Road club’s brush with relegation.
As seen in footage posted on club media (17 July), Meslier made a double save to deny Philippe Coutinho from the penalty spot – but couldn’t prevent Leeds United falling to a 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa in Australia.
The France Under-21 international kept just five clean sheets in 38 Premier League outings last season – conceding a league-high 78 goals.
As quoted by Leeds Live (17 July), manager Jesse Marsch hailed the shot-stopper’s “massive potential” but called on him to be more of a leader in the dressing room.
Whelan insisted the 2022-23 season is “big” for Meslier as he looks to adapt his new-look teammates.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “Meslier, in my opinion, has grown every season.
“Last year was a tough one for him but he’ll have learned an awful lot from that.
“He didn’t have the continuity of a solid back line in front of him week-on-week – we had a lot of injuries, which meant shuffling the pack around almost every game.
“But look, there’s no doubt that he’s just growing more and more into that number one role.
“He’s one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League, for me – and he’s hardly missed a game since we were promoted.
“It’s a big season and he’ll have to adapt to the new bodies in front of him.”
Meslier has now racked up 88 total senior appearances for Leeds United.
He joined the club from French club Lorient in July 2020.
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