Graham Smyth has been on the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast, and he has been talking about Illan Meslier and how he has bought into the club.
Smyth discussed various topics about Leeds United but spent a bit of time on the young goalkeeper.
Here is what he had to say about the Frenchman:
“He has really bought into Leeds since he came in.
“Some loanees can take a bit of time to fully get ingrained into the team and into the culture.
“It always impresses me when a youngster, especially, makes himself a part of the group, particularly when you’ve got such big characters in there and experienced players.
“[Ian] Poveda managed it and he has come in and settled in very, very quickly. Meslier appears to have done the same, he’s been celebrating goals with reckless abandon for a long time, jumping out of the dugout [against Millwall] when he was the backup to [Kiko] Casilla.
“It was great to see him charge the length of the field [against Swansea] and dive into the celebrations.”
It seems as if Smyth enjoys the way that Meslier has taken to Leeds and clearly feels he has settled in well at Elland Road.
Do you think Meslier has fully invested himself in Leeds?
Yes, he clearly loves it
No, I think he could be more invested
TIF Thoughts…
The celebrations that Smyth refers to were his run from the other side of the pitch to get involved in the goal celebrations for Leeds’ late winner against Swansea City last weekend, while he jumped out of the dugout for each goal during the Whites’ 3-2 comeback win over Millwall back in January.
So, despite the 20-year-old only playing nine games for the Whites since joining last summer on loan, he has clearly invested himself in the club and considering they have an option to buy for just €5.5m (£4.98m), it could be something of a surprise if Meslier is not a permanent Leeds player next season.