Leeds United: Illan Meslier exit talk may take huge U-Turn after Coventry City exploits | OneFootball

The Frenchman was excellent against Coventry on Wednesday evening, and more of those performances could change the course of his Leeds future.

Leeds United continued their march towards the Championship title on Wednesday evening with an excellent 2-0 win over Coventry City at the CBS Arena.

The Sky Blues were unbeaten at home under Frank Lampard before the West Yorkshire outfit made the journey south, but first half goals from Joel Piroe and Jayden Bogle sealed an all-important three points for the visitors.

Daniel Farke's side now have a five-point cushion over second place Burnley, who themselves beat Oxford United 1-0 on Tuesday. Sheffield United and Sunderland are both in action at the weekend after they were dumped out of the FA Cup in the third round, but the leading pair now have that cushion of having points on the board.

Leeds were extremely impressive against Coventry, and easily could have scored more than the two that they did. However, credit must also be given to one member of the squad whose future has been incredibly uncertain over the last few months.

Illan Meslier has perhaps changed his Leeds destiny after Coventry performance

Illan Mesiler's future has been up for debate at Elland Road for a number of months, but despite mounting pressure, he was backed by his manager to stay on at the club.

It cannot be denied that the Frenchman has made some costly mistakes already this season, but he does have the potential to be a fantastic goalkeeper.

Concentration levels seem to be one of his main issues, but when he turned up to the CBS Arena on Wednesday evening, he showed maturity and understood just how important a victory would be for Leeds' title ambitions.

He made four saves to deny Coventry any way back into the game, and commanded his area excellently. Although he has had some problems in the Championship, he has kept 19 clean sheets in 31 appearances.

The Whites' defence is impressive, but they do require a talented goalkeeper behind them to ensure that they can keep their opponents at arm's length and Meslier proved himself to be that in the West Midlands.

If he can continue to show the same level of performance going forward, then Leeds may just decide to keep hold of the 24-year-old for a little bit longer, as he is still incredibly young for a shot-stopper.

Leeds supporters must accept that Meslier is here to stay for the short-term at least

There are understandable frustrations from Leeds supporters, and Meslier has not always given himself the greatest of reputations. But, he is more than capable of playing in the Premier League once again, and he has the ability to become a very good goalkeeper.

Mistakes like the one he made against Sunderland need to be cut out of his game, but if he can do that, then there is no doubt that Farke will want to keep hold of him for the long-term.

Nevertheless, Meslier will be staying at Elland Road for the meantime, and fans must get behind him to help his performances improve.

Confidence is crucial to the 24-year-old, and Leeds are going to need him to continue to perform if they are to win promotion back to the top flight after the disappointment of losing in the play-off final last season.