Tottenham Hotspur backed to sign a better goalkeeper than Leeds United’s Illan Meslier
Illan Meslier has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur in recent months as the Lilywhites look to find a replacement for Hugo Lloris.
But journalist Ryan Taylor, while speaking on The Spurs Chat Podcast (h/t LeedsLive), has backed the Lilywhites to go for a more accomplished goalkeeper. He also labelled Meslier as one of the bottom 10 goalkeepers in the Premier League.
“I don’t really see Spurs as strong contenders for Meslier. With all due respect, I think he’s a good Premier League goalkeeper and he’s obviously young, and he’s going to improve, but I think Spurs would probably be looking for someone a little bit more established.”
![Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris embraces Leeds United's Illan Meslier.](https://tothelaneandback.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/12-153-1200x800.jpg)
Meslier is 22 years old and is fairly agile for a ‘keeper who stands at 1.97m in height. One thing not on his side is experience at the very top level. The journo continued:
“I wouldn’t necessarily say Illan Meslier’s in the top five goalkeepers in the Premier League, or even close to that, really. I would actually say he’s in the bottom 10.”
Hugo Lloris, Mike Maignan, and Alban Lafont are just some of France’s top senior goalkeepers that have prevented Meslier from winning a cap for the senior national team. In the Premier League, he plays for a club arguably in and around the midtable region and at times, fighting for relegation.
There are two ways of looking at Taylor’s comments. Those who have seen Meslier would believe the journalist is severely undermining the young goalie’s potential and ability to succeed at a truly top-level club.
But some would also say that he is right. When we signed Lloris, who is now 35, in the summer of 2012, he was a full-fledged international for France and one of the best goalkeepers in Ligue 1. Now, we shouldn’t compromise when we are potentially looking for his successor.
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We have been linked with names such as Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jan Oblak earlier this season – two of the most famous, accomplished goalkeepers in Europe. Those two would be dream additions to our team, but we can certainly do worse than Meslier.