Elland Road. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Elland Road. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Elland Road. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Leeds United transfer news: Whites backed to save £50m on key player, Major update on Ben White future at Brighton

Illan Meslier has proven time and time again this season that he is a hugely useful asset for Leeds United.

The Frenchman has not only established himself as the undisputed number one goalkeeper at Elland Road, but has also taken to his first campaign in the Premier League with ease.

Meslier may have conceded 46 goals, but he has also kept nine clean sheets in 28 top flight outings this term, and was recently named in the Telegraph’s ‘Project 2000’, recognising the 30 best young player in Europe born after the turn of the millennium. He was the only goalkeeper on the list.

It’s little wonder, therefore, that Leeds are reportedly looking at handing him a new contract, and according to former Scotland manager Alex McLeish, tying the stopper down to a new deal could prove to be a masterstroke.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “The thing we keep repeatedly saying is when you lose your best players, you start to lose football games.

“You’ve got to secure them. It’s not easy to paper over the cracks, as we know. We’ve seen it with many top, top clubs, top players, top managers.

“It’s just a brilliant bit of business for Leeds and they’ve got the guy in house. It’s not as if they have to spend £50 million on a transfer fee.

“I mean he might get that in his wages with the way the money is, the gravy train now!”

Elsewhere, it is understood that Ben White is open to the prospect of signing for Manchester United this summer.

The Manchester Evening News claim that the former Leeds loanee would be interest in a potential switch to Old Trafford in the coming months, but Brighton are expected to dig their heels in.

That will hardly come as a surprise for anybody who kept an eye on the Whites’ attempts to secure a permanent deal for the defender last summer, and the Seagulls will look for a fee well in excess of £35 million if they are forced into a sale.

As for White himself, it is suggested that he sees himself moving to a big club in the next few years.

We’ve gathered up the rest of today's Premier League speculation below...