With Hugo Lloris edging slowly towards retirement, there will be a need in the France national team to find a successor.
Most believe that will be Mike Maignan, with Alban Lafont and Alphonse Aréola right behind him, but Leeds United’s Illan Meslier might have something to say about that.
The goalkeeper produced an incredible performance against Liverpool at the weekend, helping the Elland Road side leave Anfield with an unexpected 2-1 win.
At Leeds for a couple of years now, the 21-year-old is the undisputed number one at the club, and that is regardless of the club’s poor start to the campaign.
Prior to the win against Liverpool, the Yorkshire club hadn’t picked up three points since the 3-0 victory over Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, with Jesse Marsch under increasing pressure.
That will have been lessened a bit for the time being, mostly thanks to Meslier, whose nine saves are a season high in the Premier League this season to date.
So Foot dedicate an article to the Leeds goalkeeper on Monday, and after reviewing all the praise from English pundits, explain that while the World Cup comes a ‘tad too soon’ for him, even with Maignan’s injury, he can’t be ignored much longer.
With 11 France U21 caps to his name already, the ‘talent and maturity’ he has shown once again means that ‘seeing him among the greats (France first-team) is probably just a matter of time’.
