Leeds now ready to sell Illan Meslier at £20m discount - Sources

By Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent

28th Jul, 2023 | 4:00pm

Leeds now ready to sell Illan Meslier at £20m discount - sources

Leeds United are ready to sell goalkeeper Illan Meslier this summer, sources have told Football Insider.

A well-placed source has told Football Insider that the Whites will ask for bids of between £20-25million for the 23-year-old.

That is a significant drop from the £40million figure Leeds had previously hoped to rake in if Meslier were to leave Elland Road in the event of relegation.

Football Insider revealed in April that Chelsea have a major interest in the Frenchman, while Tottenham and Man United have also shown interest.

However, Spurs and United have recently remedied their goalkeeping issues with deals for Guglielmo Vicario and Andre Onana respectively – while Mauricio Pochettino looks set to persevere with divisive shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Leeds’ willingness to sell comes as they put the finishing touches on a deal for Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

Football Insider has revealed that the experienced shot-stopper is undergoing a Whites medical on Friday (28 July) ahead of an announcement.

Darlow, who spent the second half of last term on loan at Hull City, will join up with Daniel Farke’s squad ahead of their friendly fixture against Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday (30 July).

Meslier was a regular starter for Leeds in the Premier League last term but was dropped for Joel Robles by Sam Allardyce in the final four games of the season.

He has racked up 126 appearances during his time at Elland Road, conceding 212 goals and keeping just 30 clean sheets.

Leeds’ 2022-23 campaign ended in relegation from the Premier League – and a number of first-team stars have already departed the club.

Farke’s side start the new season against Cardiff next Sunday (6 August).

In other news, Leeds United and Southampton race to sign goal machine.