Leeds United fans must have barely any fingernails left at this point in time as another dramatic end to the regular Championship season hurtles into view.
Indeed, the Whites could well suffer from another automatic promotion collapse now with Burnley only behind Leeds on goal difference in third spot, whilst Sheffield United sit pretty at the top of the pile with a two-point cushion in place.
If Leeds do fall into the playoffs like their fate during the 2023/24 campaign, there will be questions asked again about certain parts of Daniel Farke’s failing first-team personnel.
Most notably, Illan Meslier suffered from another bad day at the office in the disastrous 2-2 draw versus Swansea City on Saturday.
Meslier's disastrous performance against Swansea
The ex-Lorient goalkeeper has always been prone to an error or two since signing on the dotted line for the Whites back in 2019.
This season has exposed that more and more, with Meslier left notably ashen-faced when he gifted Sunderland a fortuitous equaliser back in October in a 2-2 draw, which is remarkably similar to how his afternoon played out versus the Swans.
The shaky Frenchman slipped up once more when Alan Sheehan’s visitors came to Elland Road, with the lofty 6 foot 6 ‘keeper gifting Harry Darling Swansea’s first goal of the day from a corner, before then somehow failing to stop Zan Vipotnik’s fierce 96th minute effort.
Farke has stuck by the clumsy 25-year-old, but it remains to be seen whether Meslier is the preferred choice heading into next campaign, with Premier League attackers aplenty licking their lips at the prospect of facing off against the former France U21 international if Leeds do return to the top-flight.
Annoyingly, Farke could already have a stronger option than Meslier in between the sticks if the Whites didn’t allow this alternative face to leave for good in 2022.
Leeds have already sold a Meslier replacement
Meslier does, of course, have his plus points, with the long-standing Elland Road servant up to a sizeable 72 clean sheets from 214 Leeds appearances.
But, errors creeping into the 25-year-old’s game are unavoidable now, as one ex-Leeds ‘keeper in Elia Caprile continues to excel away from West Yorkshire whilst Meslier regularly struggles.
Caprile never went on to make a senior appearance for Leeds having shone in the U23s, leaving the promotion-chasers with a big sense of what if in the here and now, especially as the 23-year-old now shines with loan employers Cagliari away from parent side Napoli.
Only leaking 16 goals this season in Serie A donning his new Cagliari colours, Caprile has undoubtedly gone on to make a name for himself away from England, with his transfer valuation now also a great deal higher than his early footballing education at Leeds.
Games played
123
Clubs played for
5
Goals conceded
128
Clean sheets
40
Value at Leeds
£167k
Value now
£7m
The “superstar” stopper – as he’s been lauded in the past by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – has seen his value increase by a mammoth 400% since initially moving to Bari, with Caprile heading to Italy in a deal worth around £1.4m.
“Why the choice of Bari? They believed in me, I was lucky with this. Bari and sporting director Polito have believed in me.” – Caprile on leaving Leeds.
Now, he’s worth a bumper £7m according to Transfermarkt, off the back of an impressive 40 clean sheets being picked up from 123 total clashes away from Elland Road.
With a lack of convincing backup options at Farke’s disposal, Leeds fans wouldn’t grumble if Caprile was back on the books, with his varied career since leaving perhaps making him a competent choice in the unpredictable Championship.
This is all hypothetical, however, with the German unlikely to change up his first team ‘keeper choice, leaving Leeds in a perilous position near the top of the second tier.
As bad as Meslier: Leeds star who lost possession 15x had a game to forget
Leeds United collapsed late on at Elland Road in a disappointing 2-2 draw against Swansea City.
1 ByKelan SarsonMar 30, 2025