As the season draws to a close, many elite footballers find themselves as free agents, which means they are up for grabs for Leicester City’s consideration.
Jon Rudkin’s lead for Leicester City
It is that time of the season where the King Power club’s Director of football takes up the center stage. Rudkin has been magically prolific in conjuring up deals from behind the curtains in recent times, contradicting a rather poor reputation on Filbert Way. He is said to be the reason for finding diamonds like Fofana and Tielemans. It’s again his time to shine in this transfer window.
Free agency has always been an underrated quarry to hunt for hidden gemstones. This time it’s no exception that there will be some pretty big names who are well adapted to make a mark wherever they choose to go. We take a look at eight such players (in no particular order) who can help our team with positive reinforcements by adding depth and experience to our squad for next season’s anticipated European Nights.
1. Gini Wijnaldum at Leicester City?
The Liverpool midfielder was heavily linked to join Barcelona after the expiration of his contract at Liverpool. The reason was simple: the former Dutch boss Koeman’s preference towards Wijnaldum. But sadly for Gini, Koeman’s job is not secured next season as Barcelona has lost the La Liga title race in a spectacular fashion.
Barca is also in the middle of financial instability of surmounting debts. Not only that, Barcelona is accruing both Sergio Agüero and Memphis Depay for free. So Gini’s chances of joining Barca look pretty slim. He will be a free agent, so Leicester City should try to poach him from the free agency market due to his vital UCL exposure.
2. Sergio Romero
Sergio Romero has been brutally humiliated and ignored by Manchester United. He was once the top choice for Argentina, and now he has only played seven games in a United shirt since joining them in red hot form during 2015. He had tried to move out of the shadows of David de Gea by placing transfer requests which did not materialize for the last two seasons. Now his Argentina’s spot has been compromised to Emiliano Martínez.
Romero would be leaving as a free agent this summer. He would be desperate to earn his dues by performing extensively. We have Kasper, but as a second option, Romero would be a great asset. No club would give an out-of-touch goalkeeper a starting spot. He needs to start somewhere and earn that trust. The Foxes could be a perfect place to start and atone for his lost reputation.
3. Olivier Giroud
Chelsea has built a stacked roster, and veterans like Giroud are not receiving any hints over a possible extension. The French striker has remained in the Premier League since 2012. You can never write him off as a threat. Despite this, the 34-year-old has not been Tuchel’s first-choice striker despite Timo Werner’s repetitive failures.
With Tuchel keen to progress with a younger squad, Giroud would be keen on exploring his options as a free agent. Could be a crucial player to have on the bench for a manager for free. He is still going to represent France in the coming Euro.
4. Gianluigi Donnarumma
Donnarumma rolled eyeballs when he became the second-youngest goalkeeper ever to debut in Serie A. He was rapid to cement his place, becoming the first choice goalkeeper for AC Milan. He is one of the world’s most promising young goalkeepers, and his contract is running out this summer.
He has captained the Milan side and had been regular to start for Italy. He will be negotiating the terms of a potential contract extension after 2021. However, it will be a perfect opportunity for him to be the one to lead a club like Leicester City going forwards. Kasper will look to rest in the next few years, and there can be no better replacement for him than the prodigy of Italy, Gianluigi Donnarumma.
5. Lucas Vázquez
Lucas Vázquez has been a great servant for Real Madrid. His versatility remains underappreciated by the Los Blancos. The player wants a hike in his salary, and Madrid is not too keen to concede to that demand.
The 29-year-old right midfielder/right back thus could choose to continue his services elsewhere where he will not be under-appreciated. Such kind of a player could change the mentality of a team like us. The aggression that radiates from a Real Madrid player is invaluable. Superb option for the Foxes if they manage to consider it.
6. Hakan Çalhanoğlu
Hakan Çalhanoğlu has been in a contract negotiation with AC Milan. The club is reportedly not seeing eye to eye with the Turkish midfielder’s demands of a £4.2 million-per-year deal. If things remain like this, he will be a free agent this summer.
An experienced attacking midfielder like Çalhanoğlu could add a lot of missing flair to the King Power club’s squad. No doubt he is an exceptional talent who has been instrumental in AC Milan’s recent success. He is an option to consider.
7. Diego Costa
Diego Costa is only 32 years old. He has been without a club since the start of this year. His last season with Atlético Madrid has been underwhelming by his standards. The nomadic career of Costa has been controversial, and that has always been a problem with him. His loose cannon-like temper is a thing of concern.
But still, the talent that he possesses should not be eclipsed by his nature. With Vardy aging, Costa could be an option to lead the charge of the attack for some years to come. He had always been a deadly threat to the opposition’s defense when he was playing in the Premier League for Chelsea.
8. Michy Batshuayi
As told previously, Chelsea’s squad is flooded at the moment, and several of their stars had been regularly loaned out as there is simply no option for them to stay and eat up wages. Certainly, this can be blamed upon mismanagement of the recruitment process or their sacking of their managers, who each have a vision with different players of distinct traits.
The same has been the case with Batshuayi, who is on his fourth loan spell. His career is on a downward spiral, and this might be his final chance to leave Chelsea for his own sake. He is still a Belgian international, but apart from that, he has always been a second choice wherever he has gone. A good option for Leicester City to consider as the player is only 27 and has the potential if utilized properly with guaranteed minutes.