Leeds United maintained their place in the automatic promotion places on Saturday with a thumping 4-0 win over Oxford United at Elland Road.
The Whites ran out comfortable winners in the Championship clash against managerless Oxford, whose new head coach Gary Rowett had not been appointed in time to manage the game.
Goals from Dan James, Jayden Bogle, Brenden Aaronson, and Manor Solomon secured all three points for the West Yorkshire outfit, who are still three points behind Sheffield United in the title race.
Daniel Farke will be hoping that his side can continue their impressive form thus far and avoid a play-off battle again, after his team lost in the play-off final at the end of last season.
The January transfer window officially opens for business next week and the German head coach could look to use the market to bolster his squad, to give them the best chance of being successful in the second half of the season.
However, the Whites may also lose players from their squad amid interest from some teams in the Premier League ahead of the upcoming window.
Premier League giants eyeing Leeds player
According to The Sun, Manchester United are eyeing up a potential swoop to sign Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier in the January transfer window.
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The report claims that the Premier League giants are looking for a second-choice goalkeeper to come in and compete with Andre Onana for the number one shirt at Old Trafford, to give their first-choice real competition for his place in the second half of the season.
It states that their goalkeeper scout, Tony Coton, likes the French shot-stopper and that the Red Devils have been keeping tabs on the player’s performances in the Championship for the Whites this season.
The Sun reports that Coton has regularly attended matches to watch the former Lorient prospect and that Meslier is viewed as one of the future for Manchester United.
It also reveals the Premier League side would prefer to wait until the end of the season to make a move for the second division stopper, but that they could also be forced to swoop for him in January if their current second-choice, Altay Bayindir, attracts transfer interest from elsewhere.
There is no mention, however, of whether or not Leeds would be open to doing business with United in January, or how much they would want for Meslier if they did decide to part ways with him ahead of the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
Farke and the 49ers must, now, take advantage of Manchester United’s interest in the French dud by ruthlessly cashing in on him if an offer comes in for his services, whether that is in January or in the summer – irrespective of promotion.
Whilst it would come in different circumstances, Leeds could repeat the success they had with the sale of Kalvin Phillips by cashing in on Meslier.
Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips success
In the summer of 2022, Manchester City swooped in to sign the England international from the Whites, who were in the Premier League at the time, for a reported fee of £45m.
He had made 234 appearances for Leeds in all competitions, after coming up through the academy system, and the club appeared to sell him at the perfect time, as his form dipped in his second top-flight season.
Appearances
29
20
Key passes per game
1.2
0.5
Pass accuracy
85%
82%
Tackles + interceptions per game
4.2
3.9
Duel success rate
52%
46%
As you can see in the table above, Phillips’ form in his first Premier League season was significantly better than his performance the second time around.
Despite his big dip in form, Manchester City still swooped in to agree a £45m deal for his signature at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, and that sale has turned out to be a blinder from the Whites.
At the time of writing (23/12/2024), FootballTransfers values Phillips at just €9m (£7.4m) and that is a staggering fall-off, after he failed to
establish himself at The Etihad and is now out on loan at Ipswich Town, after spending time with West Ham on loan last term.
Leeds could, now, repeat their success with the sale of the English midfielder by cashing in on Meslier, who has done little to suggest that he would thrive at a Premier League giant.
Why Leeds should sell Illan Meslier
If Manchester United come in with a serious offer for the French shot-stopper, Farke should ruthlessly cash in on the 24-year-old dud, who has not done enough at Premier League or Championship level to justify a big-money move.
Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, the Frenchman has conceded 3.9 more than expected in the second tier, based on the post-shot xG of the shots against his goal, which shows that he has underperformed as a shot-stopper in the Championship over the last 18 months or so.
Meslier, who was once described as a “liability” by journalist David Kent, came down from the Premier League with Leeds at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, after also struggling as a shot-stopper in the top-flight.
2020/21 Premier League
35
-3.4
2021/22 Premier League
38
-16.2
2022/23 Premier League
34
-12.4
2023/24 Championship
44
-3.1
2024/25 Championship
22
-0.8
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed flop has conceded more than the average goalkeeper would have been expected to in each of the last five seasons, at Championship and Premier League level.
Onana, Manchester United’s current first-choice, has conceded 5.5 fewer than expected since the start of last season in the top-flight, which suggests that Meslier is nowhere near as good as the Cameroon international when it comes to saving high-quality shots.
This suggests, therefore, that the Frenchman would go to Old Trafford and waste away on the bench, as Phillips did at Manchester City, and decline in value by not playing much, unless his form from the last five seasons drastically improved.
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Therefore, Leeds could play a blinder and repeat their Phillips success by cashing in on Meslier amid interest from the Red Devils in January.