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(Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media/IMAGO)
Jonathan Burnett
Sun 10 August 2025 15:28, UK
Gabriel Gudmundsson has responded to Lucas Perri’s new message after his first outing as Leeds United’s new number one.
Perri and Gudmundsson are two of Leeds‘ seven new signings who will be first-choice picks for Daniel Farke‘s side next season, with the latter inheriting the number three shirt left behind by Junior Firpo.
The likes of Jaka Bijol and Sean Longstaff will also anticipate starting places at Elland Road in the early stages of their Premier League campaign, as Farke aims to bolster his Championship title-winning squad.
Leeds’ league opener against Everton is only eight days away and Farke still has several gaps to fill in the attacking areas of his team, but their final friendly against AC Milan gave an indication of his starting XI.
Meslier’s mistakes almost proved costly to Leeds’ promotion push last season (Credit: Imago)
The writing has been on the wall for Illan Meslier for some time at Elland Road, and Leeds prepared to sign a new goalkeeper almost from the instant that he was dropped from Farke’s side late last season.
Perri’s arrival on a £15.6million deal from Lyon last month further underlined Farke’s intention to find an alternative to Meslier between the sticks for Leeds, and the clearest indication yet came on 9 August.
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Leeds’ new Brazilian played the first 45 minutes for his new club in their 1-1 friendly draw with AC Milan at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and he lined up wearing the number one shirt worn by Meslier since 2019.
Meslier was absent from the travelling squad altogether in Dublin, and after he was replaced by Karl Darlow at half-time, Perri posted on Instagram (9 August) with a message for his new club’s fans.
In a message which Gudmundsson responded to with two applause emojis, Perri said: “First game for Leeds United – Amazing feeling, incredible supporters!
Let’s keep working together!”
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Football Insider Verdict
Meslier being left out of Farke’s squad for Leeds’ final friendly of pre-season, and seeing his squad number given to his obvious replacement in Perri, surely leaves all signs pointing towards the exit door.
The Frenchman is one of several players with uncertain futures at Elland Road as the clock ticks down to the new season, with Patrick Bamford still present despite Farke leaving the striker out of Leeds’ plans.
New signings remain the focus of most Leeds fans with clear deficiencies out wide and up front, but many will also keep an eye on potential moves away for Meslier, Bamford and other out-of-favour stars.
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