This article is part of Football League World’s ‘What does the future hold?’ series, this content strand is where we evaluate and subjectively debate a player’s future at their current club…

With the summer transfer window approaching for Leeds United, there are a few loose ends in their team that they might be interested in tying up, including on-loan goalkeeper lllan Meslier.

The summer transfer window of 2019 saw Leeds looking to regroup for a second successive promotion charge after falling agonisingly short in the 2018/19 campaign.

There were a number of outgoings from Elland Road that were directly replaced in the market with incomings of a similar ilk, with one of the notable departures being Bailey Peacock-Farrell to Burnley, who started last season as the club’s first-choice.

The signing of Kiko Casilla saw Peacock-Farrell pushed down the pecking order and the Whites cashed in, meaning the replacement that they looked to source would come in as a similar second-choice to the current Spaniard between the sticks.

French youth international and FC Lorient starlet Illan Meslier was who the club turned their attention to and a deadline day loan deal was agreed for the then-19-year-old to sign until the end of the season. While there was no confirmation of the terms of the deal from Leeds’ end, FC Lorient’s official website detailed that Leeds held an option to buy the youngster at the end of the season.

Meslier came in and had to bide his time for a first-team opportunity, taking his regular spot on Marcelo Bielsa’s bench in the first half of the season whilst impressing in the under-23s. However, a glamour FA Cup tie away to Arsenal handed Meslier the perfect pressure-free platform to showcase his talents for his new club, to which he did so brilliantly.

The question marks around him stepping in were always about whether he could distribute the ball as well as Casilla has shown, but without misplacing a single pass (long or short) against the Gunners, any fears of him not being up to scratch were completely allayed.

A lingering FA charge had been hanging over the head of Casilla since September, and this came to fruition on the eve of the Whites’ trip to the KCOM Stadium to face Hull City, seeing Casilla banned for eight games.

A league debut was on the cards for the Frenchman and it gave all a chance to see how he would fare in a league game with a vital three points at stake.

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It was a quiet afternoon for the stopper as he kept his first clean sheet in Leeds colours, doing the basics right and showing his confidence to play from the back, as if it was his hundredth game for the club, not his second. Up next was a home clash against Huddersfield Town and on paper, this game posed a lot more threat to his goal. Meslier was only really tested twice and he dealt with both powerful efforts with relative comfort, to further prove his quality in goal for Leeds.

The recent EFL postponement has put his development on hold for the coming weeks and it’s a shame for the stopper who was just starting to build up a head of steam with two solid outings and two clean sheets, but it leaves both him and the club with a perfect window to sort out his future, at least verbally if not written.

There’s no doubt that everyone at Elland Road is keen on Meslier and would be happy to see him extend his stay at the club beyond this season.

There’s a lot of hope that they can seal a permanent deal for him after it was revealed by The Athletic that Leeds’ option to buy is true and stands at a relatively low £4.5million, which looks like being an absolute bargain for the future.

At just 20 years-of-age, Meslier is already showing a lot of maturity beyond his years at Elland Road, with his confident and accomplished performances showing he’s ready for first-team football and the way he has taken to the squad, with Barry Douglas singling his character out for praise.

Transfermarkt have Meslier as the sixth-most valuable ‘keeper in world football aged 21 and below and the most valuable 20-year-old stopper in the world, so for Leeds to hold the option to sign him for a mere £4.5million, it seems like a no-brainer.

The only area of doubt left about whether this deal is going to go ahead is Meslier’s mindset on a potential move. His attitude to being second-choice was faultless and when he earned his first-team place, he grabbed it with both hands.

A loan move away from Lorient was always the best move for him after he was made to play second-fiddle to Paul Nardi, despite having a starting berth throughout the 2018/19 term.

The future irrespective of Leeds United looks extremely bright for Meslier, but there is no reason why he can’t have a long career at Elland Road as the Whites press on towards promotion.

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