Leicester City’s confirmation of Europa League football has probably altered the tier of players they are looking to sign. Allan Saint-Maximin is a perfect fit.
Brendan Rodgers has already stated Leicester City can’t afford signings of around £70m, although without the Champions League, I doubt many players inside that price range would be interested in a move to the East Midlands.
The Northern Irishman has outlined the importance of signing another forward player, probably to support the impressive numbers of Jamie Vardy – which ensured the 33-year-old won the Premier League 2019/2020 Golden Boot. Whilst looking at potential suitors, of which it’s likely the Foxes search for a winger, it’s pertinent that this wide-player doesn’t only synchronise with Vardy, but also their wide partner – most probably, Harvey Barnes.
If Leicester City were to sign a winger, what are the likes of; Barnes, Ayoze Pérez, Marc Albrighton, and Demarai Gray lacking in their skill sets, that the Foxes should look for in their signing?
From the offset it’s clear that Leicester City are lacking a ball-carrying winger, who’s direct upon receiving the ball, and confident enough to beat his opponent one-on-one. From watching the Foxes play this season, you’d think that Harvey Barnes’ profile is of a similar nature to this mould, but his statistics this season don’t support this.
Harvey Barnes has completed only 37 dribbles this season, that’s an average of 1.6 per 90 minutes of football. Ayoze Pérez is slightly better, as this season, the converted Spanish-winger has completed 44 dribbles, an average of 1.97 per 90 minutes. Without a comparison these numbers mean very little – out of wingers in the Premier League this season, Barnes ranks 28th for the aforementioned metric – Pérez is 24th. Given that sides in the Premier League tend to use two wingers, and these are the starting wingers for the Foxes – ordinarily – this is very poor. For further clarity that Leicester City truly lack a player with these qualities, Gray ranks in 29th and Albrighton 40th.
Interestingly, Barnes’ profile is more of an “inside forward”, as almost all of his play is in the final third (71.25% of his touches come in this area) and he’s managed a lot of shots on target per 90 minutes of football (1.17). However, he does need to work on increasing the amount of goals he scores from these chances, as currently, Barnes has the worst differential between goals and xG (expected goals) in the entire Leicester City squad. He ended the season with 6 goals, but given the chances he had throughout the season, he had an xG of 8.2.
Understanding that Barnes is more of a final-third player, means the Foxes require a complimentary winger – one that collects the ball slightly deeper and progresses the play individually. Out of the current Premier League wingers, there are four names that truly standout for this specific profile; Adama Traoré, Allan Saint-Maximin, Felipe Anderson, and Wilfried Zaha. I’d suggest that Traoré is content with his situation at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but what about Saint-Maximin at Newcastle United?
The Frenchman has enjoyed his first season in the Premier League, after a £16.2m move from Ligue 1 side, OGC Nice. Albeit not outstanding numbers, Saint-Maximin has contributed towards 7 goals (3 goals and 4 assists) this campaign, but Leicester City would profit more from his offensive play prior to the goal contributions.
As mentioned earlier, Saint-Maximin is the second best dribbler in the league, he’s also completed the third most take-ons (121), behind Wilfried Zaha (163) and Adama Traoré (183). However, no player this season has taken more shots after completing a take-on – 22, than the Frenchman. His incisiveness on the ball is unparalleled by any player in the current Foxes squad.
Exactly what Leicester City need
Leicester City have definitely strayed from the one-dimensional, counterattacking focused side that won the Premier League back in 2016, but with pace in the wings and upfront, it’s not a bad attacking structure to apply every so often. Ayoze Pérez isn’t quick, he’s much more of a technical winger – which is why he’s played so well in the number 10 role in recent matches. Saint-Maximin is explosively quick, the Frenchman clocked a sprint versus Southampton of 22.8mph – in the 96th minute of the game. For the entire season, this places him just outside the top 10, as 10th place, Phil Foden, managed a sprint of 23.07mph versus Aston Villa.
The Newcastle winger is extremely fast, direct when the ball is at his feet, incisive, an exceptional dribbler and most importantly, inside the market value of what the Foxes are looking for – as he’s currently value at £25.2m. Even a player swap is a possibility.
All of this does beg the bigger question, have Leicester ever replaced what Riyad Mahrez brought to the table? It was always going to be a difficult replacement, Mahrez is arguably one of the best wingers in World football, but since his departure the Foxes haven’t attracted a wide-player that can single-handedly bypass the fullback with some tricky footwork or a piece of skill. This is something that Saint-Maximin has in abundance and it would bring a lot of excitement and unpredictability to the East Midlanders‘ attacking play.