Illan Stéphane Meslier (born 2 March 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leeds United.
![]() Meslier warming up for Lorient in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Illan Stéphane Meslier | ||
Date of birth | (2000-03-02) 2 March 2000 (age 22) | ||
Place of birth | Lorient, France | ||
Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Leeds United | ||
Number | 1 | ||
Youth career | |||
2006–2009 | Merlevenez | ||
2009–2018 | Lorient | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2019 | Lorient II | 17 | (0) |
2018–2020 | Lorient | 28 | (0) |
2019–2020 | → Leeds United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2020– | Leeds United | 80 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2018 | France U18 | 3 | (0) |
2018 | France U19 | 5 | (0) |
2019 | France U20 | 4 | (0) |
2021– | France U21 | 11 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:37, 2 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 September 2022 |
Illan Stéphane Meslier[2] was born on 2 March 2000[3] in Lorient, Brittany.[4]
Meslier began playing football with his local club Merlevenez at the age of 6, and after a successful match against FC Lorient joined their academy.[5] On 1 February 2018, he signed his first professional contract with Lorient.[6] In July 2018, Lorient rejected a €10 million bid from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco for Meslier.[7][8] He also received interest from English Premier League side Chelsea.[9][8]
He stayed at Lorient, and shortly made his professional debut under then manager Mickaël Landreau for Lorient in a 1–0 Coupe de la Ligue win over Valenciennes FC on 14 August 2018.[10] He kept a clean sheet consecutively in his first five games as a professional, conceding his first ever goal in his 6th game against Paris FC.[11] He saved an injury time penalty from Clermont player Manuel Perez in Lorient's 1–0 win against Clermont.[12] He solidified his place as the club's number 1 keeper during the 2018–19 season, playing 30 times in all competitions, keeping 11 clean sheets. With his form helping Lorient finish in 6th in 2018–19 Ligue 2 but narrowly missing out on the playoffs due to goal difference compared with RC Lens. [13]
On 8 August 2019, Meslier was signed on a season-long loan by English Championship team Leeds United, with Leeds also having the option to buy Meslier on a permanent deal.[14][15] He started the season as second choice goalkeeper behind Kiko Casilla and competing with Kamil Miazek for a place on the bench, Meslier gained a reputation as a penalty saving expert after saving three separate penalties for Leeds United under-23's by December.[16]
On 4 January 2020, head coach Marcelo Bielsa announced that Meslier would make his debut on 6 January in Leeds' FA Cup tie against Premier League side Arsenal.[17] With Meslier putting in an impressive performance against the Premier League side in a 1–0 defeat on his debut, he was praised for his distribution and his saves during the match.[18] On 29 February 2020, he made his league debut for Leeds in a 4–0 victory away at Hull City.[19]
Meslier finished the season as first choice at Leeds after an eight-game suspension to fellow goalkeeper Kiko Casilla,[20] with Meslier keeping seven clean sheets in his 10 league games to help Leeds become Champions and win promotion to the Premier League.[21][22]
On 23 July 2020, Meslier joined Leeds permanently following their promotion to the Premier League, for a reported £5m transfer fee,[23] signing a three-year contract.[24] Meslier made his 2020–21 Premier League debut in the first match of the season against Liverpool on 12 September 2020, starting in the 3–4 defeat at Anfield to the reigning champions.[25][26] On 28 September, Meslier was named man of the match in the Yorkshire derby 1–0 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, after making a string of fine saves including a point blank reflex save at 0–0.[27]
On 23 February 2021, Meslier became the first goalkeeper under the age of 21 to record 11 clean sheets in a single Premier League season,[28] eventually finishing the season with 11.[29]
On 13 August 2021, Meslier signed a new deal which extended his contract until 2026.[30]
Meslier has been capped at international level by France, all the way up to France U21s. He was also part of the France U20 squad for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup playing as the first choice goalkeeper in May 2019.[31]
In November 2019, Meslier was called up the France U21 squad and was named as an unused substitute in a 3–1 defeat against Switzerland U21's on 19 November 2019.[32] He was called up again to the France U21 squad in August 2020 for fixtures against Georgia U21 and Azerbaijan U21.[33] He made his debut for the under-21 team playing in the quarter final against the Netherlands on 31 May 2021.[34]
Due to his appearance and physical stature, Meslier's goalkeeping style has been compared to that of Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.[35][36]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Lorient II | 2017–18[37] | Championnat National 2 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
2018–19[37] | Championnat National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
Total | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
Lorient | 2018–19[37] | Ligue 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |
Leeds United (loan) | 2019–20[38] | Championship | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
Leeds United | 2020–21[39] | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |
2021–22[40] | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | ||
2022–23[41] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
Total | 90 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 0 | ||
Career total | 135 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 0 |
Leeds United
Individual
Leeds United F.C. – current squad | |
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