It’s been an open secret for some time that Ilian Meslier’s time at Leeds would come to an end this summer. And today this was confirmed when the club published the retained list for the 2027/7 season, though the Frenchman’s departure was significant enough to warrant a separate article on the official website before the remaining details were announced.

The retained list is submitted to the Premier League at this time every year, and informs them of the fate of all those players whose contracts or loan spells are coming to an end on June 30th. This time it was preceded by a statement on the official site, which included the following, “Leeds United can confirm Illan Meslier will leave the club this summer, upon the expiration of his contract at Elland Road”.

“The goalkeeper played a big part in the club’s promotion-winning campaigns to the Premier League in both 2019/20 and 2024/25 and departs as a two-time champion. He will always be part of our proud history… Thank you, Illan, everyone at Leeds United wishes you all the best with your next steps and future career.”

Meslier initially joined us on loan from FC Lorient in August 2019, and his first team debut was in an FA Cup in game at Arsenal in January 2020, where he impressed, not least with his good distribution. Later that season he got his chance in the league when Kiko the clown got himself suspended for 8 games for racially abusing a Charlton player.

And it might seem strange to relate now, but he seemed a reliable presence in goal at the end of that campaign after Casilla had made a number of high profile errors, and the Spaniard’s replacement by Meslier was one of the reasons we finally got our promotion campaign over the line that season.

That earned Meslier the number one spot at the club, and it was Casilla who was on his way, as the Frenchman’s loan was converted into a permanent transfer that summer. Initially he did well in the Premier League, though we all thought he needed to fill out a bit to cope with the physical demands of English football.

But after the success of that first Premier League season under Bielsa he started to struggle, though it didn’t help that so many gaps appeared in the defence in front of him, as Bielsa persisted with a man-marking system that wasn’t working. One gaff was when he allowed a free kick from Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey to slip through his arms into the net for the only goal of the game.

Our survival on the final day of that 21/2 season was only a temporary reprieve, and when big Sam came in for a final desperate attempt to avoid the drop, one of his first moves was to drop Meslier in favour of Alex Robles. Allardyce explained later “He looked nervous when he was the mainstay, it looked like it was harming him”.

“I had watched the previous games and I spoke to quite a few people who had been at Leeds watching him quite a lot and the first thing they said is ‘he’s a great goalkeeper, but he is having a crisis at the moment’. He did not take it well, a bit of sulking, but when you go in as a manager you have to make these decisions”.

Meslier could have taken the option to leave Leeds that summer, but opted to remain at Elland Road to rebuild his career as we tried to get back to the Premier League. He had some fine games that season, notably during the away win at Leicester, but those costly errors started to creep back into his game during 2024/5, and they were costing us points.

Sunderland’s last minute equaliser was blamed on a divot, but his uncertainty cost us in a draw at Hull, and the final straw was his mistakes to allow Swansea to take a point as we came into the crucial stage of that season. Once again he was dropped in favour of our back-up keeper, and this time there was to be no way back.

When Perri was signed in the summer Meslier found himself as the club’s third choice keeper, and 2025/6 was a wasted season for him, only getting as far as the bench whenever one of the other two keepers was injured. He would have gone elsewhere if any other club had made a definite move, but while there was talk of a mid-season move to Turkish club Besiktas, that never materialised.

He still seemed genuinely pleased whenever the team won a match without him being in the side, whenever he was pictured in the stands. But after the fans and the rest of the squad had celebrated a successful season after the final home game against Brighton, a cameraman was to capture the sad sight of Meslier sitting alone in one of the goalmouths, knowing that his time at Leeds had come to an end.

He has drawn a few comparisons with Gary Sprake, another keeper who was a tremendous shot-stopper on his day, but who was prone to making a few too many errors. Which perhaps leaves Darlow in the David Harvey role as the less spectacular but more dependable keeper (his own error in the League Cup at Hillsborough aside).

For the record books, Meslier made a total of 215 appearances for Leeds, which included 72 clean sheets. He is still only 26 and could still have a good career ahead of him if he can iron out the flaws in his game, but he needs a reset, and that will have to happen away from the high-pressure atmosphere of Elland Road.

So what next for the goalkeeping department of the squad? The retained list also says that we “remain in discussions” with both Karl Darlow and Alex Cairns, whose contracts also expire this summer. It could be that Darlow wants an assurance that he will be the preferred number one choice before he renews his deal. Either way, we will doubtless be looking for at least one new keeper, even if it’s only to add to the squad as a backup.

The rest of the retained list contains few surprises. Buonanotte is listed as “return to parent club” after he had few opportunities to shine during his loan spell, while Sam Byram is another to come under “remain in discussions”. Four of the under 21s will be leaving, with only Darryl Ombang being offered new terms.

The ‘scholars’ have fared a little better, with six of them being offered professional contracts and another having a ‘third year option activated’, though two others will be leaving the club.

Of course, as the retained list only concerns players whose deals are about to finish, the players mentioned above aren’t the only ones who might be leaving the club. There are several others who didn’t get much game time last season who might be moving on, and a couple of regulars who contracts expire in 12 months time who the club might sell if we can’t get them to renew.

There’ll be plenty more comings and goings before the new season starts in August, so watch this space.

Reuters