Leeds United’s 2025/26 Premier League season has had an impressive start. The Whites have made a strong start to their return to the elite, after two seasons in the Championship.
Of course, their promotion campaign last season was one of complete domination under Daniel Farke.
They’ve already picked up eight points this season, which Understat says is actually lower than the expected number of points. This tally stands at 9.96xPTS, putting the West Yorkshire side 10th in the table for this specific metric.
After a big summer transfer window, this Leeds team has a new look, with some of their players vital to Championship success struggling to break into the team this season.
It might be strange to see a few players from Farke’s dominant team last season now struggling to get regular playing time this season. One of them is midfielder Ao Tanaka, who was a key cog in the middle of the park in 2024/25.
Yet the Japan international simply cannot get a look in, with Farke’s signings Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach favored.
Last season he played 43 times in the league, scoring seven goals. So far this season, he has only played 181 minutes of top-level football.
Midfielder Tanaka isn’t the only player to fall into this category. Center forward Joel Piroe was a key player for Farke last season, scoring 19 times in 43 games, confirming his 13 goals from the previous season.
He even scored four goals in a single match against Stoke City.
However, after signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, Piroe simply cannot take a look. He has played fewer minutes in the top flight than Tanaka, accumulating 147 in just three appearances this season.
He hasn’t scored yet either.
There is one Leeds player who has played even fewer minutes this season, despite playing an important role in the 2024/25 campaign.
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The start of the new season has shown that Farke is not afraid to make big decisions and replace players who were an integral part of last season. You could call this a lack of loyalty, even though it’s a decision that has so far proven to be correct.
Another player who falls into the same category is goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Once described by Farke as “the best goalkeeper in the league”, he has now fallen down the pecking order and cannot join the Madrid starting XI.
Last season, the 25-year-old was Leeds’ first choice goalkeeper for much of the season. He played in the first 39 games of the season, but in the last seven he was ruled out following a series of errors.
This included his remarkable error against Sunderland.
It was not just that moment against the Black Cats, but “many monumental errors” that cost him his place, according to BBC Radio Leeds sports editor Jonathan Buchan.
As a result, Meslier has not played a single minute this season.
Statistics which confirm this poor form, displayed by the goalkeeper born in Lorient. For example, last season he averaged 3.11 goal saves, meaning he conceded three more goals than he should have.
|
Meslier – 24/25 Championship |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistical |
Per 90 minutes |
Season total |
|
Goals conceded |
0.7 |
27 |
|
Backups made |
1.7 |
65 |
|
Long balls finished |
98 |
2.5 |
|
Goals prevented |
-0.08 |
-3.11 |
|
Sofascore statistics |
||
Perhaps it’s time for Leeds to move on from the Frenchman. He is currently second choice behind Karl Darlow, and when summer signing Lucas Perri returns, it can surely be assumed that he will become Farke’s third choice.
It’s a sad disgrace for a goalkeeper once so highly regarded by Farke. Yet with the number of errors Meslier has made over the last 12 months in particular, it’s understandable why he’s been abandoned, especially in the pressure cooker of the Premier League.
