Illan Meslier made his Championship debut for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United at the weekend.
Meslier, who joined Leeds on loan from French club Lorient in the summer of 2019, was in action for Leeds in the Yorkshire derby against Hull City at the weekend.
The 20-year-old goalkeeper made his debut in the league for the Whites on Saturday afternoon and got the chance due to the ban on first-choice custodian Kiko Casilla.
Former Leeds striker Hasselbaink, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, has given his take on the Frenchman, and while he has praised the youngster, he believes that his teammates need to help him as he is left-footed.
Leeds Live quotes Hasselbaink as saying: “He’s young and doesn’t have no fears. For him it is a great opportunity. They must rate him highly because they wouldn’t rate him second.”
The Dutchman added: “They need to help him better. They need to make sure they play on his left more.”
Hasselbaink continued: “The defenders haven’t really realised yet that he is left-footed to play a little bit different. So he has that extra second or that half second more to play it. At times they could have helped the goalkeeper a little bit better.”
Automatic promotion push
The win against Hull was the fourth in a row in the Championship for Leeds and has further enhanced their chances of clinching automatic promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.
The West Yorkshire outfit are second in the league table at the moment with 68 points from 36 matches, just a point behind leaders West Bromwich Albion.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
