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Rachid Ghezzal not what Leicester City needed

By Harneet Singh Sethi

TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 02: Rachid Ghezzal (R) of Olympique Lyonnais in action against Patrice Evra of Juventus during the UEFA Champions League Group H match between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on November 2, 2016 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 02: Rachid Ghezzal (R) of Olympique Lyonnais in action against Patrice Evra of Juventus during the UEFA Champions League Group H match between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais at Juventus Stadium on November 2, 2016 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City finally have a replacement for Riyad Mahrez.

Following a profusion of footballing canards that never made any sense to anyone associated with the club, Leicester have signed Rachid Ghezzal. Lessons learned for those who ever believed in one of those rumours linking some fancy name with a move to the East Midlands.

The fans’ expectations were unusually high – and rightly so to some extent. Leicester had a huge sum with which to replace Mahrez, and they could very easily have acquired a top talent the same way as West Ham United, Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers or anyone else of the same stature in the Premier League has done.

Instead, what they have done is that they have paid £10 million for a 26-year old who has had one good season all his career. For someone of his age, that’s a pretty shocking fact – one that is a testament to the absence of consistency and quite possibly capability as well.

There are a few people who have defended his acquisition by using the example of Riyad Mahrez, who himself was no ubiquitous name with a record like Cristiano Ronaldo when he arrived from Le Havre. That is true, but it’s also worth pointing out that Mahrez was an unknown commodity because of his age (22) and the fact that he played for a Ligue 2 side, unlike Ghezzal, who is not known only because, put crudely, he has mostly been average. A return of 40 decisive contributions in 154 appearances serves as a reflection of just that.

Also, a young Mahrez never represented a risk. He didn’t have the added responsibility of filling a legend-sized void. All that was expected of him was to keep developing. Ghezzal, on the other hand, is a massive risk. Keep in mind that he is here to replace one of the most important players in the club’s history, and therefore, his probable failure could have serious repercussions. Leicester can afford a £10 million flop, but what they can’t afford is for the flop to impact their ambitions in a bad way.

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It’s very worrying that despite being bought at the stage where Ghezzal should ideally be nearing his peak, a majority of the Foxes faithful are waiting to see what is he actually up to: whether he will be the next Mahrez, or will he just be another player who they would look forward to seeing the back of come the end of the season. It tells you more about the player than the fans.