Illan Stéphane Meslier

Illan Stéphane Meslier is a French goalkeeper born in Lorient on 2 March 2000. He began playing with ES Merlevenez before joining the FC Lorient academy in 2009, developing through the club’s youth system and signing his first professional contract in February 2018. Meslier made his senior debut against Valenciennes in August 2018 and established himself as Lorient’s Ligue 2 goalkeeper, making 30 appearances during the 2018–19 season. In August 2019, he moved to Leeds United on loan, initially serving as cover before taking the starting role in early 2020. He debuted for Leeds against Arsenal in the FA Cup and later helped the club win the Championship title and secure Premier League promotion, recording seven clean sheets in ten appearances during that campaign. In 2020–21, Meslier became the first goalkeeper under 21 to keep 11 Premier League clean sheets in one season. Standing 1.97 metres tall, Meslier combines reach and reflexes with composed distribution and proactive movement from his line, and he is now listed with Arsenal.