The formation, transfer template that Leicester should follow

Firstly, Brendan Rodgers has clearly outlined his intentions of signing a winger in the transfer window. I expect that when a suitable player is found, one of the current wingers will be sold – most likely, Demarai Gray. I’m still of the belief that Gray could become an excellent player for the Foxes, but you can’t deny that he’s had an array of chances from multiple managers, and nobody has made him a priority in their squad. With a decent fee being spoken about, somewhere in the £20 million mark, now might be the time to replace and improve. So, what do Leicester City need on the wing?

They need a progressive player, that likes to carry the ball and beat his opponent one-on-one – in that sense, slightly individualistic. However, of equal importance is an ability to create goal-scoring opportunities and be adept at finishing them if required. I’d also state that their natural movements should compliment Portuguese right-back, Ricardo Pereira, who predominantly looks to overlap his winger. Therefore, a left-footed right-winger would be a good fit, they naturally attempt to use their stronger foot on the inside and facilitate space for Pereira to exploit.

However, they shouldn’t be entirely one-footed, I think an underrated ability in forwards is being able to use either feet. With this comes a level of unpredictability when in the attacking third, which is uncomfortable for defenders to deal with – most of the elite forwards in World football are adept at using both feet. With this in mind, I’d highlight a couple of realistic options that Rodgers, Lee Congerton, and Jon Rudkin should be looking at bringing to the King Power Stadium.

The best fits for the profile I’ve described are; David Brooks, Domenico Berardi, and Viktor Tsygankov. All of these players are left-footed right-wingers, and excel at using the interior half-space whilst advocating an overlapping run from their fullback partner.

David Brooks’ market value is currently £18 million, but with interest looming from Liverpool, it will take a fee of around £35 million to negotiate personal deals with the 23-year-old. Even though Brooks’ season was interrupted by injury, the Welshman still provided some inspiring performances in his nine appearances, and even though he’s worth double his valuation, it would be a worthwhile investment for the Foxes.

Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi has had an incredible campaign in the Italian Serie A. Ending the season with 14 goals and 10 assists, Berardi was the only player in the entire league to reach double digits for both goals and assists – a remarkable achievement.  The 26-year-old has a market value of £17.1 million, but with Sassuolo ties from his youth career, it will take quite a lot of monetary investment to pry him away from the club, I envision a fee of around £30 million.

Viktor Tsygankov is perhaps the least known of the mentioned names, but that shouldn’t act as a deterrent. The 22-year-old has enjoyed an impressive season with Dynamo Kyiv, in which he contributed 14 goals and 5 assists from right-wing. He’s also proven himself on the European stage, as during the 2018/19 Europa League, Tsygankov completed more key passes (17) during the group stage than any other player under the age of 23. The Ukrainian has built a reputation for exceptional dead-ball ability, but this isn’t his sole avenue of goal contributions, he’s an extremely versatile and athletic winger. Tsygankov has a current market value of £14.4 million, but with his importance to Dynamo Kyiv, I’d estimate a fee in the region of £20 million would suffice.

All three of these wingers would benefit Leicester City’s campaign in 2020/21, but David Brooks gets my vote. Having a familiarity with the league is vital when assessing players, I think the player with the highest skill-ceiling is probably Tsygankov, but with him being an “unproven” player, there’s always that risk he could flop under Rodgers – although, I highly doubt he would.