Jordon Ibe would be another Demarai Gray for Leicester City
Leicester City transfer rumours: AFC Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe is available say reports, with Brendan Rodgers a fan. But Ibe’s not right for the Foxes and will be another disappointment.
Leicester City will be linked to all sorts of wingers this off-season. We all know the Riyad Mahrez saga ended a year ago; now we are in the quest to replace Mahrez saga. Bournemouth’s Jordon Ibe is certainly not the one.
In all honesty signing the 23-year-old would be as bad a mistake as Leicester made by turning down the £25 million offer for Demarai Gray from the Cherries – per Sky Sports two summers ago. Both players ‘have it in the locker’ but failed to show it at big, and bigger clubs.
In fact Ibe has an even worse Premier League statistical record than Gray – which is saying something when discussing these perennially promising players, with all due respect. With regards to scoring and assisting: 76 division appearances for Bournemouth with 10 goal involvements. For Liverpool he produced a worse output.
Fittingly, the Ibe-to-Leicester rumour originated, as so many others, at The Sun:
"BRENDAN RODGERS is eyeing a reunion with Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe.The Leicester boss gave Ibe his debut at Liverpool.Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is set to make a summer move for Bournemouth winger Jordon IbeAnd he still remains a huge admirer of the 23-year-old attacker.Ibe has one full season left on his contract at the Vitality Stadium.And he would only consider a switch for the right move.But Rodgers is looking to bolster his squad for next season.He is determined to break into the top six of the Premier League.Ibe has started 13 games this season under Eddie Howe.A number of clubs are watching his situation closely as he could leave on a free next year."
Naturally a large number of football observers take this outlet’s prospective transfer suspicions with, well scepticism. Of course The Sun often gets it right too, and this is a more than feasible movement. But, still!
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Will Demarai Gray stay at Leicester City?
It’s very likely Gray will stay with the East Midlands side for another campaign. Evidently the boss from Northern Ireland rates the starlet – is that label still applicable for the 22-year-old? Yet Rodgers can and will be ruthless if his wide-man doesn’t perform to the best of his abilities in another successive term on Filbert Way.
Gray will always have a special place in the Blue Army’s collective heart as he scored the winner, and only goal, in the first fixture following late chairman Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s tragic passing versus Cardiff City.
Additionally the faithful, along with the club, are aware of his supreme quality. Hopefully Rodgers is the man to extract the best from the Young Lion; if not, when his contract has one year left in 12 months time, expect an unceremonious departure. If a particularly brilliant right-winger comes in this transfer window, gray will be worried and rightly so.
Outrageous. #LCFC need the real Demarai, he's so talented https://t.co/wYgLAaxYhI
— Foxes of Leicester (@FoxesofLCFC) May 28, 2019
Likelihood of Ibe joining the Foxes
More recently, Leicester Mercury suggested that the Cherries are willing to consider offers for their wing-man:
"Bournemouth are reportedly open to offers for Leicester City ‘target’ Jordon Ibe."
£15m is the touted amount Bournemouth will accept for the former Derby man – and that may be a fair price. However Foxes of Leicester do not anticipate the move going ahead. It is also very doubtful that the Foxes’ recruitment chief would consider a straight swap as they’d be on the compromised end of that deal. £10m plus Ibe might temp and get them Gray at last. You never know.
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