The formation, transfer template that Leicester should follow

Finally, the acquisition of a striker is imperative for the Foxes. The irony of the previous statement when the squad possesses the Golden Boot winner of last season, is merely inconsequential when you understand the extra minutes that will be played next season, and combine this with Jamie Vardy ageing another year.

Leicester City’s attempt at finding a strike partner or replacement for Vardy has been in vein over the last four years. Record-signing , Islam Slimani wasn’t able to rekindle his Sporting Lisbon form in the East Midlands, while Kelechi Iheanacho has been second-fodder to the 100-club striker for most of his Foxes tenure. The Nigerian has managed to form somewhat of a partnership with Vardy during the latter stages of this season, but Slimani wasn’t as successful.

If you’re Rodgers, do you sign a like-for-like replacement of Vardy, so that your tactical structure remains similar in attack or do you find a “plan B”, which a lot of the Foxes faithful feel has been lacking for quite sometime?

A little bit of a cop out, but why not try both – a flexible, well-rounded forward, that is as good in holding the ball up, as they are finding space behind the oppositions defensive line. This will leave only a small number of options, as finding this balance makes you an exceptionally sought after talent (i.e Erling Haaland), but there’s a few achievable names that Rodgers could attract.

Those names are; Odsonne Édouard and Ollie Watkins, both of these players have been linked with moves to Leicester City amongst a whole host of other suitors, but I think both offer differing advantages to the current Foxes squad.

Édouard is that perfect blend of both, a threat with his back to goal, receiving the ball from the midfielders and is equally frightening making runs behind the oppositions back line. It’s unsurprising that the Frenchman managed a total of 21 goals and 9 assists for Celtic in their 2019/20 Scottish Premiership season. The sheer number of assists also outlines his ability to connect play, he strives at finding through balls to the advancing runners from midfield – which is plentiful with the current Leicester City squad.

With a height of 6ft1, he definitely offers some aerial presence, something that’s been missing from the Foxes arsenal for a few years, but he’s not superb in the air, in fact, only two of his 21 goals last season were headers, it’s more of the holdup play that his stature provides and excels in. Édouard’s market value is £13.5 million, but considering he’s already scored a hat-trick in the SPFL this season, I’d estimate a fee between £30-40 million would be required to secure his services.

Lastly, Ollie Watkins. In recent media tabloid publications and across betting platforms, Leicester City have been touted as the favourite to sign Brentford’s marquee striker. The deal becomes increasingly plausible now that the Bee’s have confirmed Championship football for next season, rather than the top-flight.

Watkins’ profile is more of a like-for-like with Vardy. There’s a false representation that Watkins is an “aerial threat” because of the eight headed-goals he scored last season, but that’s not painting the full picture. In reality, the transitioned-winger has an excellent awareness across the pitch and is adept at finding pockets of space – even in the box, hence why he’s been able to score a good-level or headers without being an aerial threat.

Instead, Watkins is an elite-level ball-carrier for his position, the 24-year-old completed 47 progressive carries in the Championship last season. This is referring to when a player carries the ball ten yards towards the opposition goal whilst in control of the ball, not to mention an average of 4.57 dribbles per 90 minutes with a very-good amount of completion (50.8%) for his position. This isn’t the similarity he shares with Vardy, his runs in-behind partnered with instinctual finishing is where the comparisons are truly deserved.

Watkins has been receiving a lot of interest from across the Premier League, so although his market value is £10.8 million, it would required £25-30 million to outdo the other potential suitors.

For me, I’d prefer Odsonne Édouard as his profile is different to Vardy’s but incredibly well suited to the Premier League. His goal-scoring record has been impeccable throughout his time with Celtic, and I think he’s ready for a chance to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues.