Meslier known as a ‘Special talent’ at an early age

Meslier

moved to

on loan from Lorient and he was awarded a permanent contract this summer for £5m. The France U21 international has won the gloves from Kiko Casilla, becoming Leeds United’s number one after ‘fantastic’ displays he has been pulling, according to Paul Robinson.

Alex Hayes

, Lorient’s former executive vice-president, knows the 20-year-old very well and believed he was a ‘special talent’ ever since he was 14.

“

Illan was 14 or 15 when he was playing against 20-year-old men, which is completely ridiculous. There’s no cockiness, no arrogance. He just had an inner calm.

“It was that temperament that set him apart. At that point, we knew there was a special talent

.”

Hayes continued, “

Meslier was first really noticed when he was part of the youth cup team with Mattéo Guendouzi [who left Lorient for Arsenal in 2018].

“They got to the semi-final, I think, which was quite outrageous for a bunch of kids that were 16 playing against guys who were 18, 19 and 20

.”

Meslier should strengthen himself before being qualified for the number one is the France team which will eventually happen at some point. The magnificent shot-stopper must work on crosses and set pieces to reach further success.

The Leeds’ goalkeeper is trying his best to gain enough confidence in the box and is praised for his inner calm and maturity at this age. He is dealing with a lot of responsibilities which sees him a big future at Leeds who put a major bargain of £5m down for him.

Follow

for the