Celtic 'keen' on 'highly rated' Premier League player ahead of January transfer window

Celtic’s new head coach Wilfried Nancy has lost all three of his opening matches in charge. He was picked as their permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers but has struggled to make an immediate impact at Celtic Park. Prior to his move to Scotland, he caught the eye in America with Columbus Crew in the MLS.

The Hoops were beaten 3-1 by St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden Park last time out. They are back in action on Wednesday evening as they look to bounce back. The Glasgow giants face an away trip to face Dundee United.

Celtic target Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier

Celtic are ‘keen’ on Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier, according to TEAMtalk. The report claims Serie A side Inter Milan are also interested in the stopper ahead of the January transfer window. Most signs point towards the player leaving Elland Road this winter for a new challenge elsewhere.

Meslier, 25, has fallen out of favour with his current club behind Lucas Perri and Karl Darlow. The Frenchman has been on the books of the West Yorkshire outfit since joining them back in 2020. Prior to his move to England, he had spent his whole career to date at FC Lorient and made 30 appearances for their first-team after rising up through their academy.

The former France youth international initially joined Leeds on loan before his transfer was later made permanent under their popular former boss Marcelo Bielsa. He has played 215 games for Leeds so far, 39 of which came last season, and he hasn’t featured at all yet in this campaign and has been completely frozen out. The ‘keeper has helped the Whites gain promotion to the Premier League twice in the past.

What would Illan Meslier offer to Celtic?

Celtic could see Meslier as a long-term replacement for Kasper Schmeichel. At the age of 39, Schmeichel’s days are numbered. The Hoops need to start thinking about life without the Dane between the sticks.

Meslier would give Nancy another option to pick from and is someone who is useful with the ball at his feet. However, his confidence will have taken a hit last term at Leeds. He made a series of high profile mistakes and ended up losing his position to Darlow.

Following a blunders last season, Farke said: "There were a few games where he could have and should have done better. There were perhaps one or two strikes where you would expect a player of his calibre could save it when he is on the top of his game. I spoke with Illan about this and although he has had many clean sheets and many good saves he could show this with more consistency. It's important to be honest and open."

He added that he is ‘highly rated’ in the football world still, despite his recent troubles: "On the other hand, we can not forget what we have here. He is a 24-year-old man who is quite self-critical and he was disappointed with his last performance. He came here more or less as a teenager and has been loyal to the club even when there has been interest in him. He is highly rated in the football world and has more than 200 games for us already.

"He was named as the best goalkeeper in the Championship last season, named by a neutral panel. He has kept 14 clean sheets so far this season and we are top of the table. It's important to be honest about what he can improve but also to back him."