Championship winners Leeds United have agreed a deal for a new goalkeeper to join the club following severe criticism towards last season’s number one Illan Meslier for his mistakes in front of goal.
The Whites have reached an agreement with French side Lyon for the transfer of Brazilian stopper Lucas Perri, with the 27-year-old set to replace the Frenchman in goal.
The former Brazil U23 international made 45 appearances in all competitions last season and is now set to have a medical with the Elland Road side, as reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Farke Agrees Deal for New Number One
Despite Leeds‘ Championship-winning season in 2024/25, goalkeeper Meslier received persistent criticism for his frequent mistakes, which led to him being dropped by manager Daniel Farke and almost costing his side the title; they only finished ahead of second-place Burnley on goal difference.
The 25-year-old Lorient academy graduate is one of the club’s longest-serving players, having signed from the French side in 2019, initially on loan, before making the move permanent.
In that time, he has played over 200 games, won the Championship twice, won the division’s Golden Glove award and been named in the PFA Team of the Year, but his time as the club’s number one seems to be over, having been dropped in place of Karl Darlow towards the end of last season.
Perri, who signed for Lyon from Brazilian side Botafogo in January 2024, was almost ever-present last season as ‘Les Gones’ finished sixth in Ligue 1, securing a Europa League spot for the upcoming campaign.
He began his career at São Paulo and had a loan spell at Crystal Palace in 2019, although he failed to make an appearance. He then joined Botafogo in 2022 and became the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
He then moved to Lyon 18 months later for a fee of €3.25 million, alongside a sell-on clause of 50% for the Brazilian side.
A deal between Leeds and the French club has progressed quickly and Perri is reportedly joining up with the squad on their pre-season tour in Germany, according to journalist Fabrice Hawkins.
How impressive was Perri last season?
The 2024/25 campaign was Perri’s first as Lyon’s first-choice, having displaced veteran Anthony Lopes, who had been the club’s number one since 2013.
He conceded 44 goals in his 33 appearances, keeping 10 clean sheets and holding a save percentage of 72.5%, which ranked him seventh in the division according to Opta.
He also prevented a total of five goals across the season, which again was the league’s seventh-most.
Both his total goals prevented and save percentage were higher than Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League-winning keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who conceded three more goals than expected and had a save percentage of just 67.1%.
Perri’s rate of 1.33 goals conceded per game was significantly more than Meslier’s 0.69, although the former was playing in the top division in France.
One area where the Brazilian showed better attributes than the Frenchman is his kicking, although this is likely due to Leeds’ dominance on the ball as one of the Championship’s strongest teams.
Perri completed 3.06 long kicks (more than 40 yards) per game, with a success rate of 32.6%, compared to Meslier’s 1.85 at 23.7%.
Whilst this could be dictated by Leeds’ style of play last season, it could also show that Perri is naturally a better distributor of the ball than Meslier.
Is there any way back for Meslier?
With the deal for Perri set to be announced soon, it signals the end of Meslier’s time at Elland Road.
Being just 25, he will not want to spend next season sitting on the bench, or even as third-choice behind Darlow, and with just one more year left on his contract he is likely to be offloaded so that the club can earn some money from his departure.
Having been signed for a reported fee of £5 million in 2020, there is no doubt that he has been a success overall in West Yorkshire, with two league titles in just six years.
However, it is set to be a sad departure from the club with his last appearance coming in a 2-2 draw against Swansea City at the end of March, in which the Swans scored a 96th-minute equaliser.