‘Not everyone’s cup of tea’ – Ex-Leeds United boss reveals unpopular call he'd make on 'vulnerable' man

The ex-Leeds manager believes the young Frenchman is susceptible to making further mistakes which could cost the team dear given their precarious position in the Premier League table.

Speaking to the ‘No Tippy Tappy Football’ podcast, produced by William Hill, Grayson said: “Someone asked me what I’d do if I went back, and I said I’d drop the goalkeeper straight away.

"He’s young, he’s vulnerable at this moment in time and he’s making too many mistakes. Sometimes you need to take him out of the firing line and it might not be everyone’s cup of tea but that’s what I would do because I just think he is vulnerable to making too many errors that are costing the team too many points. The players in front of him are also making mistakes.

As for advice Grayson would give new boss Sam Allardyce, he added: "Sam [Allardyce] can’t go in and play the same team because he would be changing nothing. One thing you have to do as a caretaker manager is implement your own ideas straight away, and that will probably mean making three or four changes.”

Allardyce explained during his pre-match press conference on Friday morning that taking a decision on Meslier would be an important call ahead of the visit to the Etihad Stadium. In reserve, the 68-year-old has Joel Robles, with whom he worked at Everton during 2017/18, to stand in for the under-fire stopper.

"That for me lies to be one of the probably the biggest issues that I have to make today,” Allardyce said.