Illan Meslier

Lorient

Meslier began playing football with his local club Merlevenez at the age of six, and after a successful match against Lorient joined their academy. On 1 February 2018, he signed his first professional contract with Lorient. In July 2018, Lorient rejected a €10 million bid from Ligue 1 side Monaco for Meslier. He also received interest from Premier League side Chelsea. He stayed at Lorient, and shortly made his professional debut under then-manager Mickaël Landreau for Lorient in a 1–0 Coupe de la Ligue win over Valenciennes on 14 August 2018. He kept a clean sheet consecutively in his first five games as a professional, conceding his first ever goal in his 6th game against Paris FC. He saved an injury time penalty from Clermont player Manuel Perez in Lorient's 1–0 win against Clermont. He solidified his place as the club's number 1 keeper during the 2018–19 season, playing 30 times in all competitions, keeping eleven clean sheets. With his form helping Lorient finish sixth in 2018–19 Ligue 2, narrowly missing out on the playoffs due to goal difference compared with Lens.

Leeds United

2019–20 season

On 8 August 2019, Meslier moved to England and signed for then EFL Championship club Leeds United, on a season-long loan, with Leeds also having the option to buy Meslier on a permanent deal. He started the season as second-choice goalkeeper behind Kiko Casilla and competing with Kamil Miazek for a place on the bench, and Meslier gained a…

Meslier has been capped at international level by France, all the way up to France U21s. He was also part of the France U20 squad for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup playing as the first choice goalkeeper in May 2019. In November 2019, Meslier was called up the France U21 squad and was named as an unused substitute in a 3–1 defeat against Switzerland U21's on 19 November 2019. He was called up again to the France U21 squad in August 2020 for fixtures against Georgia U21 and Azerbaijan U21. He made his debut for the under-21 team playing in the quarter final against the Netherlands on 31 May 2021.

Due to his appearance and physical stature, Meslier's goalkeeping style has been compared to that of Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Illan Stéphane Meslier was born on 2 March 2000 in Lorient, Brittany, France.