Illan Meslier | Long term target?

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
35,065
Interested to see a few different outlets have linked Meslier to us as a long term target to replace De Gea.

The Mirror today:



The Athletic a few days ago:



And the Mail back in December:



With at least one of those being a reputable outlet, what do we think of Meslier as a long term target? He's still young at 22, how much potential do you think he has?
 
Best young goalkeeper in the country.. budget of 7m.. trying to sign from Leeds..
Adds up..
 
Bazunu is the one for me.

The kid has everything and is better on the ball than Meslier.
 
I don't particularly rate him as a shot stopper but I suppose the view would be that he's a young keeper who still has a lot of scope for improvement. Ramsdale didn't look up to much prior to signing for Arsenal. As someone else has already mentioned though, I like the look of Bazunu more than I do Meslier.

prateik said:
Best young goalkeeper in the country.. budget of 7m.. trying to sign from Leeds..
Adds up..
Click to expand...
Two separate reports. We're looking for a short-term solution for that price range but Meslier is one of the long-term targets, presumably for next summer.
 
I watched a ton of Leeds games last season due to my unhealthy Dan James obsession and I have to say that I do not get the fuss over this guy at all. I would definitely say that anyone who has an issue with DDG and his lack of command of his penalty area would hate Meslier as he is similarly timid about coming out and quite weak when challenged from set pieces and high balls. He may be a little more composed with the ball at his feet but not so much that it really stands out.

Would prefer Sanchez from Brighton or Raya from Brentford if we are looking inside the PL, wouldn't even mind Jose Sa but based on our quoted budget I don't think any PL starter is gettable, most clubs would even value their backups higher than we seem willing to go. To find a meaningful challenger for this season for 7M or less we would need to be looking for a hidden gem playing overseas, if only we had a scouting department.
 
Oranges038 said:
Bazunu is the one for me.

The kid has everything and is better on the ball than Meslier.
Click to expand...
Agree 100%. Southampton fans raving about him already and seeing what Irish fans have seen up close past few years. Has the potential to have a better career than Packie Bonnar and Shay Given
 
Judas said:
I don't get the hype with him at all. Always looks like he's going to shit himself. So nervy, so full of mistakes.
Click to expand...

If we were signing him right now that'd be my worry too.

I guess the question is how much of that is just down to him still being a relatively young goalkeeper at 22 and less of an issue from a long term perspective?

Or indeed how much is down to the amount of pressure Leeds' defence put him under? He was the goalkeeper who faced the most shots on target last season, faced the most 1v1s, made the third most passes, had the fourth most actions outside his penalty area, etc. When you have a young goalkeeper that involved you probably expect a few mistakes.
 
Gandalf said:
I would definitely say that anyone who has an issue with DDG and his lack of command of his penalty area would hate Meslier as he is similarly timid about coming out and quite weak when challenged from set pieces and high balls. He may be a little more composed with the ball at his feet but not so much that it really stands out.
Click to expand...

To put this into context though, he stopped 8.6% of the crosses into his penalty area last season. For random comparisons, Sanchez was on 11.7%, Alisson 9.5%, Ederson 8.8%, Ramsdale 8.1%, Mendy 7.8% and De Gea 3.3%.

So statistically at least he's a lot closer to those others than he is to De Gea.
 
I just do not understand this

He's fecking crap... the worst keeper in the league for my money.
 
Don't rate him either being honest. Think he had a decent debut season in the league but doesn't seem the right profile of goalkeeper.
 
CM10 said:
I don't particularly rate him as a shot stopper but I suppose the view would be that he's a young keeper who still has a lot of scope for improvement. Ramsdale didn't look up to much prior to signing for Arsenal. As someone else has already mentioned though, I like the look of Bazunu more than I do Meslier.
Click to expand...

Ramsdale still doesn't look up to much when you look at him closely, his form last season was more about perception thanks to his ludicrous displays of self confidence and a media narrative about the amazing Arsenal rebuild. Under the microscope he was statistically pretty poor and there were quite a few howlers that would have seen DDG crucified in the press.
 
He's a long term target from before the new regime and he's not exactly good with his feet, not sure how he's considered now, to be honest.
 
Worth point out he was one of the worst (starting) keepers in the league last year in terms of Expected Goals Against - he left in 8 more goals then his expected total.

Yeah he's a bit better at coming off his line (though not top 5 in the league for claiming crosses or sweeper actions or anything) but not by so much that it negates how rubbish he is at shot-stopping.

Raya at Brentford is a much, much better keeper... and Jose Sa is probably even better then him!
 
I'd rather look at the last two keepers we faced Sanchez at Brighton or Raya at Brentford. Sanchez is only a few years older than Meslier.

I know it is a stretch, but it would be nice for our scouting/data department to find a keeper who isn't going to cost a fortune from the Premier League or with Meslier who signed a new contract a year ago that runs to 2026 and plays for a rival.

Don't even think Meslier is all that either, often looks really weak in matches I watch of Leeds.
 
Gandalf said:
Ramsdale still doesn't look up to much when you look at him closely, his form last season was more about perception thanks to his ludicrous displays of self confidence and a media narrative about the amazing Arsenal rebuild. Under the microscope he was statistically pretty poor and there were quite a few howlers that would have seen DDG crucified in the press.
Click to expand...
Yeah I think that's a fair point. I wouldn't really be keen on Meslier either, I'm just so sick to death of de Gea that any reports of us looking for a goalkeeper seem encouraging!
 
If we are looking for a cheaper option, could look at Lafont.

The PL teams will all ask for 30m minimum
 
cj_sparky said:
I'd rather look at the last two keepers we faced Sanchez at Brighton or Raya at Brentford. Sanchez is only a few years older than Meslier.

I know it is a stretch, but it would be nice for our scouting/data department to find a keeper who isn't going to cost a fortune from the Premier League or with Meslier who signed a new contract a year ago that runs to 2026 and plays for a rival.

Don't even think Meslier is all that either, often looks really weak in matches I watch of Leeds.
Click to expand...

Yeah Sanchez is another good one, though he gets a bit flappy at times I feel (though thats more anecdotal then anything hard to back that up)

Jose Sa is the one for me though... Wolves signed him last year for £6.5m... why the feck aren't we doing we shit like that? Well we all know why we aren't... but yeah.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Worth point out he was one of the worst (starting) keepers in the league last year in terms of Expected Goals Against - he left in 8 more goals then his expected total.

Yeah he's a bit better at coming off his line (though not top 5 in the league for claiming crosses or sweeper actions or anything) but not by so much that it negates how rubbish he is at shot-stopping.

Raya at Brentford is a much, much better keeper... and Jose Sa is probably even better then him!
Click to expand...

Funnily enough he was also the best in the league in 20/21 from the same metric!
 
Why are we not going after David Raya? He's much better than Meslier.
 
Knowing how Leeds worked with Phillips, they’d happily sell him to City for the fecking pocket lint stuck to their wallet.
 
Who do Benfica have in the pipeline? Wouldn’t mind the next Ederson or Oblak
 
I’ve never been impressed with him so not sure quite why he’s so highly rated! Always considered him Leeds’ weak link
 
Why are we looking at slim goalkeepers? We need someone of bigger stature. Think Schmeichel or Chilavert type - tall, big, strong
 
More (not great) "links" from The Sun and some journo



Still don't get it... He's still a bit rubbish.
 
He makes clangers, fairly often. The Sancho goal he let in the other day was a joke. That said, the raw materials are there and he has potential.
 
Honestly think he's shite and his ability on the ball won't make up for it. This is the worry I have about replacing de gea. We need to get someone that's good all round not just as a ball player.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.