Leeds United have identified a member of Slovakia’s Euro 2024 squad as a potential replacement for Illan Meslier this summer.
Slovakia are one of the feel good stories of the tournament in Germany and are set to come up against England in the last-16 having beaten Belgium in the group stages.
Meslier is reportedly attracting interest from Marseille and his exit would signal the need for Leeds to enter the market for a new number one.
Leeds brought in Karl Darlow from Newcastle United almost 12 months ago who had come in and expected to be first choice, but that was not the case.
Darlow would undoubtedly be hoping to stake a claim for Meslier’s spot if the 24-year-old was to move on, but it appears Leeds have other ideas.
Leeds identify Marek Rodak as potential Meslier replacement
So far, Marseille’s interest in Meslier has not developed into a concrete offer but new manager Roberto de Zerbi is said to be keen due to his ability in possession.
Daniel Farke hailed Meslier as the ‘best goalkeeper’ in the Championship last season and so clearly the Leeds boss is a big fan of his, and knows a suitable replacement would be needed.
The opportunity to move to a big club in his native homeland could be difficult for Meslier to turn down, and as such, the Daily Mail have claimed Leeds have drawn up a list of replacements.
One of those includes Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak, who is currently one of Slovakia’s reserve goalkeepers to Martin Dubravka at the Euros.
Rodak is actually set to be available on a free transfer this summer and so could represent a bargain deal, given he has twice helped Fulham to promotion from the Championship as their number one.
At 27, Rodak is still a great age for a goalkeeper and with Leeds reportedly set to demand £20 million for Meslier, they could actually upgrade while making a substantial profit.
Who is Leeds target Rodak?
Rodak has been capped 22 times by his country Slovakia, though as mentioned, he has not played a part at Euro 2024 so far.
Until his release this summer, Rodak had been at Fulham for over 10 years and has had loan spells at Accrington Stanley and Rotherham United, among others.
He has played 93 times for Fulham and was hailed as a ‘very good‘ goalkeeper by Scott Parker, but has never really been given his chance in the Premier League, having been second fiddle to Bernd Leno.
On a free transfer, this looks as though it could be a really smart piece of business by Leeds.