Leicester City’s transfer window woes

As the January transfer window heads into its final hours Leicester City fans will be left disheartened with no sign of any incoming players before the 11pm deadline.

The January window is notoriously quiet for most clubs and with the added financial strain of the ongoing pandemic it was always unlikely that the Foxes would bring in a superstar signing. With that being said it will still come as a disappointment to supporters that Leicester have not bolstered their ranks.

With the wage bill significantly reduced by the departure of Islam Slimani (Lyon) and Demarai Gray (Bayer Leverkusen) it seemed likely that Leicester would be able to bring in reinforcements of their own and Brendan Rodgers himself confirmed the club were in the market for an attacking midfield player to cover Dennis Praet who is out of action for three months.

If rumours are to be believed Leicester City have tried to get deals over the line with Christian Eriksen, Otavio and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all heavily linked with moves to the East Midlands. But unfortunately whether it be Eriksen’s eye watering wage demands or Arsenal refusing to allow their players to join a “rival” Lee Congerton and his recruitment team have failed to get their man.

It did look like City might secure some much needed midfield cover when a transfer triangle that involved Sean Longstaff going to Watford, Nathaniel Chalobah joining Leicester and Hamza Choudhury spending the remainder of the season at Newcastle United emerged this morning. It was unclear who really gained anything form this scenario and it appears all 3 moves have now broken down with Hamza staying to fight for a spot as Ndidi’s back up.

The general consensus seemed to suggest that not too many fans were excited by the prospect of Chalobah joining and the window is set to close with more of a whimper than a bang for Leicester. Realistically this comes as no surprise with the lack of quality available on the market midseason. Most fans will also be fully aware that the clubs finances have taken a bigger hit than most due to King Power making the majority of their profits from the duty free industry.

The Foxes will need to hope they do not suffer any further injuries and rely on the depth already at the club, at least until the summer when the clubs budget and the players available should be much more attractive.