PAUL ROBINSON STUNNED BY LEEDS TRANSFER MOVE ADMISSION
Ex-Leeds keeper Paul Robinson says Illan Meslier needs a "new start" after losing his place, surprised he stayed this summer. The French goalkeeper is out of favour and his contract expires soon.
Paul Robinson, a former goalie for Leeds United and England, thinks it is odd that Illan Meslier is still at Elland Road after losing favour.
After initially joining Leeds on loan from Lorient, the French custodian was once considered one of the best young stoppers in English football. Meslier has now been at Elland Road for six years after signing a permanent contract.
However, his stock has dropped in subsequent campaigns. Before Leeds' eventual relegation, Meslier struggled during the team's final Premier League season and was fired by interim manager Sam Allardyce.
Meslier was crucial to the team's promotion the previous season, but he has not been able to regain the form he had early in his Leeds career. The French youth international has fallen in the hierarchy since Lucas Perri arrived this summer. In spite of the Brazilian's absence from the previous four Premier League games, manager Daniel Farke chose to start Karl Darlow, a veteran.
Meslier has time to regain his peak performance, considering he is only 25 years old. Robinson acknowledged on the An Echo of Glory podcast (via Leeds United News) that he was taken aback that the goalie did not make a move during the previous transfer window.
He remarked, "Meslier's confidence is shot." "Meslier is an excellent young goalie. People tend to forget how young he is, in my opinion.
Meslier, who has featured in many top-flight games, was given a chance by Marcelo Bielsa. Meslier was dropped as soon as Allardyce arrived to try to save Leeds in the final weeks of the Premier League season because it was evident that his confidence had been shaken.
He was a young goalie who had never suffered any injuries, which I find quite similar to myself. When you are a young goalie of calibre, everyone is talking about you, your career is always going well, and you never make a mistake or receive negative press.
"To be honest, I am shocked that he is still at the club because I believe he deserved a new beginning," Robinson went on. The club has clearly moved on from him, in my opinion. However, I believe the goalie there is of the highest calibre. He is not a member of the French team.
"There is a fantastic goalie there whose confidence has just been destroyed. He needs a new beginning and a new challenge, and I do not doubt that he will go on and perform what he did for Leeds under Bielsa."
Last month, Leeds managing director Robbie Evans acknowledged there had been summer interest in Meslier; however, no deal finally proved viable for either the club or the player.
Evans stated, "I am aware that he clearly lost his position due to a change made by the squad late last season, but he is a good player, a young player, and has a lot of experience." And to be honest, he did not want to find himself in a predicament. Therefore, it turned out that having him here was better for both of them.
Since Meslier's current Leeds contract is slated to expire at the end of the current campaign, he is allowed to begin negotiations with foreign teams in January regarding a possible free transfer and pre-contract agreement.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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