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It’s been four and a half years now since Illan Meslier joined Leeds United, on loan from French club Lorient at first and then on a permanent deal. Meslier has now surpassed 150 appearances for the club, having helped them win promotion back to the Premier League in his first season and then played 108 games in the top-flight.
The Frenchman is under contract at Elland Road until 2026, but has been attracting interest, with Spanish side Celta Vigo thought to be admirers. He’s actually enduring a somewhat difficult season – prior to Saturday’s game against Cardiff, his save percentage of 65 was the seventh-worst in the Championship, and he’d conceded 1.5 more goals than he ‘should’ have relative to post-shot xG.
27 keepers in the division had performed better than that, so it’s not hard to understand why Leeds are at least thinking about cashing in and recruiting a replacement.
Dragowski on Leeds radar
According to journalist Dominik Schneider, Leeds are “interested” in Spezia goalkeeper Bart Dragowski and “could make [an] offer” if they decide to sell Meslier.
Hull City, who heading into Saturday sat just a point off joining Leeds in the play-off places, had been pursuing Dragowski, but a move to the Tigers has now been ruled out on the basis that they can’t afford his salary of more than €1m per year, which translates to about £16,500 per week. This could potentially open the door for Leeds if they need to enter the goalkeeper market.
“Superman” would need to adapt to Farke
Dragowski got his first taste of senior football with Jagellonia in his native Poland before a big move to Italian club Fiorentina in 2016. He spent six years in Florence and then made a 2022 switch to Spezia, who finished 18th and were relegated on goal difference in his first season.
The stats suggest they suffered their fate in spite of Dragowski, rather than because of him. Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has called him “Superman”, and as you can see in the table below, he justified that moniker last season by reaching three figures for saves, one of the highest totals in the division.
Bart Dragowski |
Volume |
League rank |
---|---|---|
Shots faced |
164 |
3rd |
Saves |
112 |
4th |
Launched passes attempted |
482 |
5th |
Average pass length |
34.6 yards |
8th |
Launched pass % |
37.6 |
8th |
Defensive actions outside area |
32 |
7th |
It’s worth noting that there may have to be an adaptation period to fit into Daniel Farke’s style of play. Under the manager’s instruction no doubt, Meslier has played the fourth-lowest share of launched passes (40+ yards) of any Championship stopper this season (18.1%), indicating a preference for playing out from the back. Clearly, Dragowski has operated within a different philosophy at Spezia.
One area where he is comfortable though, is sweeping, and that will give Farke and Leeds the freedom to be aggressive with their defensive line knowing that their ‘keeper can cover some of the space they leave in behind. The 26-year-old certainly offers an intriguing package, and now it remains to be seen whether Leeds pull the trigger.
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