Illan Meslier admits it would be difficult to turn down Chelsea – but only if guaranteed to start

Illan Meslier has confirmed that he would be interested in joining Chelsea this summer, but he ruled out settling for a No 2 role, according to reports. 

The 23-year-old has impressed at times for Leeds in his three-year stay in the Premier League, although he was dropped at the tail end of last season after a string of high-profile errors. 

The Whites were then relegated on the final day of the campaign after suffering a 4-1 defeat at home by Tottenham.

Yet the highly-regarded French stopper admitted that he would struggle to turn down the approach of Chelsea, despite the club having fallen some way short of expectations last term. 

He did, however, rule out any potential transfer deal that would see him ‘on the beach’ and out of the side for the majority of the season, according to Foot Mercato. 

Mauricio Pochettino is set to undergo a clear out to shift some of the dead weight at Chelsea

‘If it is to go and be on the bench, I’m not interested in that. If it’s to be the number one, of course, you can’t say “I’m not interested in Chelsea.”

‘I’d prefer to go to a less reputable club where I’ll have more game time than a top European club where I’d sit on the bench.’

Mauricio Pochettino is set to undertake a clear out of the Chelsea squad that he will inherit once he takes over the managerial role on a permanent basis on July 1. 

As such, there are a number of the Blues’ bloated squad at risk of being moved on as the Argentine looks to return the club to its former glories. 

Among that host of players are current stopper Edouard Mendy, who has seemingly played his last game for the club, with a need for a new stopper therefore arising. 

As well as Mendy, the Blues still have the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, who managed to stake his claim to the No 1 shirt halfway through the last campaign. 

While Meslier is billed to be one of the best keepers of the future, he conceded 67 league goals last season, more than five clubs in the whole division. 

He was playing behind a defence that let in a league-high 78 goals, but struggled for consistency over the course of a bitterly disappointing campaign for Leeds. 

Edouard Mendy lost his place in the starting line-up and is expected to move on this summer

Aaron Ramsdale was relegated before earning a move to Arsenal and his since impressed

Meslier would not be the first goalkeeper to earn a move to a top club immediately after relegation, though, with Aaron Ramsdale flourishing at Arsenal to be regarded as one of the league’s premier stoppers.

But with just five clean sheets to his name in the 2022-23 Premier League, Meslier may not have done quite enough to merit a big-money switch.

In 34 appearances last season, Meslier conceded four or more goals in a single game on six times, including 23 goals in April alone.

The player is under contract at Elland Road until 2026, and with Chelsea’s spending power already made evident by their near-£600million spend in the last year the Blues could be held to ransom for a sizeable fee for Meslier, should they make a bid.