The big debate at Leeds United now concerns his number one position at Elland Road in questions about Iranian Meslier’s suitability for the team this season.
Daniel Fark has already confirmed that Carl Darlow is between the sticks when the whites face off against the town of Luton this weekend at the championships.
The West Yorkshire outfit is currently competing for promotion to the Premier League – sitting in second place when it stands – and Welsh International now has the opportunity to play an important role in the ascension of the top flight.
Darlow has not competed in Leeds in the championship this season, but has retained two clean sheets in three Welsh Nations League matches and it remains to be seen if he will be able to upgrade with the French stopper.
However, the form of white meslier through the 2024/25 campaign has been a concern, and it appears to be a proper call for Fark to take him out of the firing line this weekend.
Why Leeds is right to drop Iranian Mesley
The former Lorian goalkeeper was once again in the spotlight when Leeds was tied for a 2-2 draw by Swansea last weekend after Harry Darling scored and allowed him to shoot a shot from Zan Vipotnik under him at a nearby post.
He has so far started all 39 of the club’s matches in the championship. That clash wasn’t the first time he’d let the side down.
The left footed DUD acknowledges more goals of 2.73 than expected, based on XG’s shot against his goal.
Meslier also made three errors that led directly to the opposition goals this season.
All this suggests that Fark has degraded his performance as a shot stopper and made too many mistakes to give his targets to the opposition, and that it is correct to finally remove the 25-year-old’s responsibility from the initial lineup.
In Meslier’s poor form this season, some supporters have looked back at the former goalkeeper who was let go during the French flops era at Elland Road, including Italian stopper area Capril.
Leeds United’s error with Area Capril
The young goalkeeper spent two and a half years at the club’s academy, holding five clean sheets in 19 Under-21 matches and was loaned to the third tier of Italian football in the 2021/22 campaign.
Capril maintained 12 clean sheets in the 36 Serie C matches that season, but Messley started all 38 club Premier League matches under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marche.
At that point, it seemed unrealistic for the Italians to overtake the French while Leeds No. 1 played on top flights for a week.
As a result, Victor Orta and Marsh have approved a contract to send Capril to Serie B-side Bali in a permanent deal.
Area Capril (Serie A) | 23/24 (empoli) | 24/25 (cagliari) |
|---|---|---|
exterior | twenty three | 15 |
A recognized goal for each game | 1.2 | 0.9 |
Saves success rate | 75% | 77% |
The goal has been prevented | +0.96 | +5.84 |
Save has been created | 80 | 43 |
The error led to the goal | 1 | 0 |
Statistics via Sofascore | ||
As you can see in the table above, he spent his last two seasons on loan with Serie A’s Empori and Cagliari, catching his eye with his impressive shot-stopping skills.
This suggests that Leeds ruined Capril as he currently outperforms Mesley while playing in the major leagues, but it was difficult to predict that the club would rise after playing in Italian tier 3.
A bigger mistake by Leeds was their decision to allow a free transfer in the summer of 2023, as Joel Robles could have replaced the French DUD dream.
Why Joel Robless was the perfect Iranian Meslier alternative
The experienced Spaniard played four times in the Premier League at the end of Sam Aladdis’s 2022/23 campaign, who dropped Messlier before the club released him that summer.
Where are they now?
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club, what are they doing today? This article is part of Football Fancast’s Where Are Are They Series.
The former Wigan athletic man was a veteran between sticks with a top flight experience, which turned out to be even greater mistakes than the decision to move Capril, but the Italians were inexperienced young prospects who hadn’t proved themselves when the whites forced him to leave.
He was heading for the championship in a poor way, as Meslier had just admitted a more astounding 12.4 goal than expected based on his post-shot XG against him in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old DUD currently recognizes a target of 7.22 more than expected, and has announced four errors that have directly led to the second tier goal since the start of the previous period.
Hailed as Mark Roca’s “incredible” teacher, Robles tried to prove his quality in Portugal with Estoril, so he should have intervened for Messlie as a pair of experienced hands once it was revealed that his poor form had chased him into the championship.
24/25 season | Mesurier (Championship) | Robles (Liga Portugal) |
|---|---|---|
exterior | 39 | twenty four |
Save has been created | 65 | 77 |
Save from inside the box | 35 | 57 |
Saves success rate | 71% | 68% |
The goal has been prevented | -2.73 | +6.84 |
The error led to the goal | 3 | 1 |
Statistics via Sofascore | ||
As you can see from the table above, Spanish Titans are currently playing for Estoril, and have far surpassed Messlier while playing in the top division.
Robles consistently bailed out the team and nearly prevented seven goals, and these statistics suggest that Leeds had a much fewer goals if they had a goalkeeper with a shot-stop ability between sticks rather than the current number one.
Therefore, Leeds made the Messlier complete upgrade for £0 for £0 when they released the original Wigan and Everton men on a free transfer in the summer of 2023.
While the 34-year-old Colossus continues to shine in Estoril’s top Europa League, he has proven his age is merely a number as his former teammate continues to struggle in the championships.
Related
Bamford isn’t alone: 49ers need to sell £20 million washed Leeds Dad
Leeds United will have to brutal offload Patrick Bamford and one other star this summer.
Leeds can earn more points on the board right now if they have a reliable shot stopper like the Robles who can consistently prevent goals.