Leeds United are plotting to complete the permanent summer signings of on-loan pair Jack Harrison and Illan Meslier after being impressed with their current impact on the side under Marcelo Bielsa.
The Whites have been looking into the loan market to add a lot of quality to their side and two players that they added in the summer were the returning Jack Harrison and Illan Meslier from Manchester City and FC Lorient, respectively.
The Man City man was at Elland Road in Bielsa’s first season and impressed enough to earn a second spell, with his performances consistently improving, seeing him become an ever-present and vital part of Bielsa’s system.
Meanwhile, French youngster Illan Meslier joined on-loan from Ligue 2 side FC Lorient to provide cover to Kiko Casilla. He has only made one appearance for the Whites since joining, when he came in for the FA Cup clash away at Arsenal, and did so very impressively throughout the game.
Both players have clauses in their loan contracts where Leeds can make the deal permanent for a set fee in the summer if they wish to, and it appears that they could be close to doing so after The Athletic revealed that Leeds are increasingly keen on tying down the pair to long-term contracts.
The report indicates that even though Meslier has only played one senior match, they have seen enough long-term potential in him at close quarters to warrant plotting a permanent move for the stopper, while Harrison’s consistency out wide has more than justified a permanent move to Elland Road.
Meslier could be in line to make his league debut before long as the club wait for a decision on Kiko Casilla’s FA Charge in relation to his alleged racially aggravated abuse towards Charlton Athletic’s Jonathan Leko.
Can you name these Leeds players based on their birthdate and birthplace?
The verdict
It would be very wise business from Leeds to bring both of these players in on permanent deals as they’re clearly worth more than how much they’d have to pay.
Harrison has been a vital part of Leeds’ attack and tying him down for a cut-price would give Bielsa one less position to worry about if the Whites clinched promotion.
Meanwhile, Meslier is clearly impressing at Leeds so far in the youth setup and in training so it isn’t really seen as a gamble from the club to seal his permanent stay in West Yorkshire.
A lot of Leeds’ key players in the first-team are on-loan at the moment and they need to prioritise which players they see having a long-term future at the club, as well as who is the most cost-effective.