Colchester-born 'keeper provides new competition to Leeds United's Illan Meslier for France under-21s debut

ILLAN Meslier is finally in line to make his debut as the no 1 'keeper available to France under-21s for their Under-21s Euros quarter final against the Netherlands.
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Meslier has enjoyed a superb first season in the Premier League with Leeds United having kept 11 clean sheets but the 'keeper has continually been stuck behind Nantes stopper Alban Lafont for France's under-21s.

Lafont, 22, has played 13 games for France's under-21s in addition to making 106 appearances for Toulouse, 67 for Nantes and 38 for Fiorentina.

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However, the current no 1 has now pulled out of the young French squad for this month's Euros quarter final due to Nantes being involved in a Ligue 1 relegation play-off at the end of the month.

LOOKING GOOD: For Leeds United keeper Illan Meslier, above, to finally make his debut for France's under-21s. Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images.LOOKING GOOD: For Leeds United keeper Illan Meslier, above, to finally make his debut for France's under-21s. Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images.
LOOKING GOOD: For Leeds United keeper Illan Meslier, above, to finally make his debut for France's under-21s. Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images.

With Lafont missing, it means that 21-year-old Meslier should finally make his France under-21s debut in the UEFA European Under-21s Championships quarter-final against the Netherlands on Monday, May 31 in Budapest.

Meslier had already been called up to the squad and France under-21s boss Sylvain Ripoll has replaced Lafont with Saint-Etienne 'keeper Etienne Green who has played just eight games for his club.

Green, who has a French mother but English father, was actually born in Colchester but moved to France as a youngster.

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Now 20, Green was named Etienne to remind his mother of France.

Montpellier's Dimitry Bertaud is the other 'keeper in Ripoll's squad.

Bertaud, 22, has played once for France's under-21s and has made 26 appearances for his club.

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