Chelsea now want £5m Premier League record holder, he’s already hinted he would join the Blues

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Chelsea are currently monitoring Illan Meslier as Mauricio Pochettino tries to bring a new goalkeeper to Stamford Bridge.

That is according to The Times.

So, what is the latest on Chelsea and Illan Meslier? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, the France international admitted to RMC Sport that he would be happy to join Chelsea this summer if he was definitely going to be No.1 under Pochettino.

He said: “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.”

Meslier was presumably on Chelsea’s shortlist anyway, but his comments seem to have alerted the Blues, as a very strong source in The Times are now claiming that he is being monitored closely.

Pochettino is understood to want a goalkeeper who is ‘highly skilled in distribution’ as the Argentine attempts to play out from the back at Chelsea.

Meslier unfortunately suffered relegation to the Championship with Leeds in the 2022/23 campaign, and was even dropped by Sam Allardyce for the crucial relegation run-in after a string of mistakes.

In total, the Frenchman – who cost Leeds just £5m – kept only five clean sheets in 34 Premier League appearances, conceding 67 goals.

Meslier could shine at Chelsea

While the above statistics make for poor reading, we believe Meslier is a real talent who just needs a new environment.

It should be noted that the Leeds No.1 has already racked up 107 Premier League appearances at the age of 23.

Meslier hit the 100-game landmark in a 4-2 win over Wolves back in March, breaking a Premier League record in becoming the youngest goalkeeper to rack up a century of Premier League appearances.

At Leeds, the Lorient-born glovesman was simply left far too exposed, with the club’s struggles in general, mainly when it came to defending, making life difficult for him in between the sticks.

However, behind a stronger backline containing the likes of Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile and others, we would expect Meslier to improve significantly if he joins Chelsea.