3 left-backs that would fit Leicester under Brendan Rodgers

Leicester City themselves embark on a European tour this season, as the club entertains UEFA Europa League football for the third time in its history and the first time without Martin O’Neill at the helm – although, the older generation of Foxes fans who remember the previous attempts will want an improved return this timeout.

Under O’Neill, Leicester City never made it passed the first round, losing to Atlético Madrid in 1997/98 and Red Star Belgrade in 2000/01. However, with a different Northern Irish manager in charge, Brendan Rodgers, the Foxes will surely enjoy a longer spell in the competition.

A left-back that understands the Europa League very well is Sergio Reguilón, a winner of the competition last season whilst on loan at Sevilla, from parent club Real Madrid. Upon his return to Madrid, Reguilón was named as the clubs third left-back by manager, Zinedine Zidane.

At 23-years-old, Reguilón still found himself behind Brazilian-international Marcelo, and rising French talent, Ferland Mendy – with Zidane allowing him to seek a challenge with another club, albeit one that the manager had to agree with, as the transfer was to be used as a bargaining chip for a transfer deal in future seasons. Hence the constant links with Manchester United, so that Zidane could pursue fellow Frenchman, Paul Pogba, in the near future.

Unfortunately for Leicester City, there isn’t a player of Pogba’s magnitude, to attract Zidane’s attention, but when the Foxes enquired about the services of his third choice left-back, they were quoted a price tag of more than £30m, according to The Athletic.

Reguilón has a good full-back profile for the Premier League, as he’s a very good offensive-minded player, and exceeds in his defensive responsibilities as well. Most notably, his delivery into the box is of a good level – hence his comfort level to receive the ball in the final third.

Defensively, he’s very aggressive in the tackle – as long as it’s high-up the pitch, otherwise he prefers to calculate his tackle in the defensive third. Averaging 2.04 tackles and 6.6 defensive actions (tackles, interceptions, clearances) per 90.

On the opposing metric, Reguilón created 64 shots for Sevilla in La Liga last season and was imperative in eight goals for the club. It’s this balance in his play that makes him such a desirable player for European clubs.

This transfer seems to have bypassed Leicester City, as the final stages of the contract negotiations are ongoing with Tottenham Hotspur, who used the allure of José Mourinho to pip Manchester United to the signing. At £30m, it seemed the Foxes were priced out of the transfer, and probably rightly so. There are cheaper alternatives that Congerton and Rodgers could pursue, whilst maintaining an equilibrium in the club’s expenses.