Leeds United's Illan Meslier to end 6-year wait for Lorient reunion as Sunderland boss highlights relationship
Leeds United host their Championship promotion rivals at Elland Road this evening.
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris will see two of his former proteges reunite this evening when his side face Leeds United at Elland Road.
Le Bris helped a teenage Illan Meslier rise through the ranks at FC Lorient before the goalkeeper earned himself a 2019 move to West Yorkshire. Meslier has since cemented himself as first-choice but reunited with his former boss in unfortunate circumstances earlier this season, with an on-pitch conversation following his calamitous mistake as Leeds conceded late to draw 2-2 at the Stadium of Light.
The pair will meet as rivals once again this evening as table-topping Leeds host the fourth-placed Black Cats - but there will be another familiar face for Meslier. Enzo Le Fee is just one month older than the French youth international and the pair went to school together before developing alongside one another under Le Bris at Lorient.
“When I watch players I have worked with in some of their games, I can be happy to see their development and how they are doing in their career,” Le Bris told the Sunderland Echo of Meslier and Le Fee. “For me, it was a short period with them.
“Before me, they had many experiences, and then after me, they had many experiences too. It was just a part of the process. But in the youth academy, you manage different players, then after that, you can be proud when they have success in their career.
“They were in the same year when they were coming through at Lorient. They played in the same youth team when I was the coach. They both stood out from a very early age. I always knew they had a good chance of doing very well, although there were different dynamics for each of them.
“Ilan wasn’t so tall when he was young, so his real development probably came a bit later when he was 16 or 17 years old. He discovered his real potential around 17 or 18... It is often about when they can get their opportunity. That is when you really see. Before that, you can still have many doubts. But when they are on the pitch, that is when you can say, ‘Ah yes, it is clear, they can play’.”
Meslier will be desperate to right the wrongs of that October nightmare at the Stadium of Light, with the 24-year-old coming in for regular scrutiny in the months since. But Leeds’ first-choice goalkeeper is currently on a run of six consecutive league clean sheets and has looked more confident with a string of fine recent saves.
He will hope to make it seven straight shutouts this evening, with victory at Elland Road enough to see Leeds leapfrog Sheffield United into first. More important for many, three points would pull Daniel Farke’s side seven clear of third-placed Burnley and 10 clear of their Monday night visitors in fourth.