Leicester are eyeing up a Champions League fullback
As the interest in Leicester City’s fullbacks continues to grow, the prospective replacement list follows suit. Speculation surrounding another Belgian-international potentially joining the East Midlands club.
Previously, Leicester City have apparently been interested in Atalanta’s Robin Gosens, which considering the Italian’s have been an exciting watch this season, a lot of speculation about their players futures isn’t surprising, however this time it’s his Belgian teammate, Timothy Castagne that’s caught Brendan Rodgers’ eye.
The versatile wide-player is considered a wing-back with his current team, after spending time both as a wide-midfielder and as a fullback, making him a good blend for his present role and potentially a good fit for what Rodgers is building at the Foxes.
Leicester City target assessed
At 24-years-old, Castagne has featured fairly consistently for Atalanta this campaign – making 27 appearances, what’s more impressive is that he’s played 14 times on the left and 13 times on the right – outlining his versatility on either flank.
It’s important to understand that Castagne’s output isn’t great, a single goal and three assists for La Dea (The Goddess) this season, but whilst playing for the East Midlanders – hypothetically – he’d be a fullback, so this shouldn’t be of too much concern.
On the ball, the Belgian is astute, completing 82.8% of his passes – which he averages around 48.3 per 90 minutes of football. This is made more impressive when considering the style of Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta – who’ve developed into an explosive counter-attacking unit, meaning a lot of the passes Castagne is tasked with making are in high-pressure scenarios and progressive.
Next. Chelsea expected to pay world record fee for Chilwell. dark
Although Castagne has only boasted three assist this season, he’s a consistent creator of chances – with 2.24 shot-creating actions every 90 minutes of football, again, this is to be expected of a fullback playing under Gasperini – who wants all his players contributing to the attack.
He combines his creativity with a good aptitude of defending, completing 1.1 tackles per 90 minutes – which given he has three centre-backs behind him, primarily focused on ball retrieving, is a good level.
He’s made seven appearances for Belgium, impressively scoring two goals, however the real achievement is getting minutes for De Rode Duivels (The Red Devils) as we’re witnessing their golden generation with an abundance of talent all over the pitch.
TRANSFER RUMOURS. Villa set to beat Foxes to 2 targets. light
The Leicester Mercury have rumoured a fee in the region of £20 million, which holds true to his market value of £14.4 million and isn’t too expensive for a player with Champions League experience at the age of 24. There’s also a contingent of Belgian players growing at King Power Stadium, so the home-away-from-home feeling could persuade Castagne to join Leicester City.