Leeds United: The importance of Illan Meslier

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00:00 Certainly so. I mean, obviously, if we look further back in the team, there's not really

00:05 much of a selection headache when it comes to goalkeeping.

00:07 Yeah.

00:08 Milan Melie is being on an impressive run of late, it's fair to say. He certainly had

00:13 his moments in a Leeds United shirt, from what I can remember. Certainly some good and

00:18 some bad. He's had the odd mistake here and there.

00:21 Yeah.

00:22 But the moment he is doing really quite well, and that's vital for Leeds United's promotion

00:27 and push. Keeping the goals out is just as important in some cases as scoring at the

00:31 other end. So, yeah, just on Milan Melie, just how impressive has his run of form been?

00:36 Yeah, very much so. I mean, the stats say it all. I think it's 15 clean sheets from

00:39 31 games, which is a joint best in the division. What have you got, three in a row, four from

00:44 five. I mean, Daniel Farke has always talked about attacking football and high press and

00:49 scoring lots of goals, but he has always said, ever since he came in at Leeds, how important

00:53 a solid defence is and basically the foundation of a clean sheet. And that's proven the case

00:57 now, because obviously, yes, Leeds have got a very good goal difference, but keeping a

01:01 clean sheet at the other end is the foundation for success. Some of the victories have been

01:05 by a single goal or 2-0 or whatever. And Melie is going from strength to strength. You're

01:09 right, it hasn't been plain sailing for him at Leeds. Obviously, he was a massive success

01:12 story when he came into the team, bearing in mind how much Leeds paid for him. Obviously,

01:16 initially he went up and just, I mean, fingers around that seven million marker is an absolutely

01:20 fantastic piece of business to get someone in for that fee. Obviously, first season back

01:26 in the Premier League was decent. Then Melie, like a lot of players, got caught out really

01:30 towards, especially when Leeds went down. But at the end of the day, there are two things

01:34 to look at here. Number one, he's now playing at a lower level in the Championship, as is

01:37 the case of all the players that got relegated last season. So that obviously makes a difference.

01:41 You're not coming up against the same standard of attackers, so to speak. But also, he is

01:44 still young at 23. He's still developing. He's still learning. Keepers especially can

01:49 sort of mature a little bit later and stuff in terms of how some stands don't get the

01:53 best out of them until much later in their career. He's a fantastic asset. It was interesting

01:58 that Daniel Farker praised him straight away after the Plymouth win. I mean, obviously,

02:02 the various people excelled, but I sort of noticed that when I saw it myself, really.

02:06 In a sort of quiet way, it was very, very important. There was a bit of a spell when

02:09 Leeds were only 1-0 up, where Plymouth were bombing a couple of corners into the box and

02:13 high balls. That's one thing he's had problems with before in terms of possibly flapping

02:17 at things. But he was just solid, clearing his lines, commanding and just really assured

02:22 at the back and stuff. So, yes, he's just definitely going from strength to strength.

02:26 But it's interesting, actually, to talk about players and Nonto and stuff with his contract,

02:29 obviously, 2027. Melier has actually got one year less. And I mean, although obviously

02:35 goalkeepers in some way don't hit the headlines, obviously, because they're not scoring the

02:39 goals and whatever, there's no doubt that he's just as important. So, that's obviously

02:42 something I think that will have to be looked at and I'm sure is being looked at. Because

02:46 just as when he first burst into the team, as I say, when he was a huge success story,

02:49 a lot of big clubs were looking at him and that will start being the case again now.

02:53 But hopefully, obviously, he's here, he's the United's keeper and he's the number one

02:56 that will hopefully keep the clean sheets and get them back to the Premier League. But

03:00 yes, he's been very, very good of late. As you say, there's absolutely no doubt about

03:03 him being first choice. I mean, in terms of selection issues, there's sort of headaches,

03:08 there's headaches all over the pitch, but there's not one in goal. I mean, he's absolutely

03:11 miles ahead of his first choice keeper. I mean, Christopher Clarsen has done well when

03:14 he's come into the side. Darlow is still out injured, dislocated thumb, he's on his way

03:17 back from that. But Melie is so far clear as first choice keeper. And you've got to

03:22 say he's done well to bounce back as well because I was at the Preston game at Boxing

03:25 Day when he obviously got sent off, which is probably his most recent sort of, you know,

03:30 sort of furby, if you like. But that was a bit daft way to bear in terms of like putting

03:35 a hand out into an opposition player's face. But obviously, he's served his ban and he's

03:38 come back and the stats speak for themselves. And as I say, three clean sheets in a row,

03:42 just as Leeds are fantastic going forward. They've been very, very solid at the back

03:45 and he has been a key part of that. So long may that continue. And the thing is, with

03:49 him at his age, Daniel, as well, as I say at 23, he's only going to get better as well.

03:53 It's not like he's at the peak of his powers by any means. He'll continue to get much,

03:56 much better. So they've got an outstanding young keeper there basically.

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