Leicester interested in exciting, goalscoring winger: FoL’s verdict

Squad depth and consistency are much-needed for any side in the upper echelons of the Premier League, with Leicester City being among these sides.

In the left-wing position, Leicester City have only one out-and-out player in Harvey Barnes. His unfortunate injury last season forced Rodgers to play a winger-less formation, making the Foxes rather predictable. Therefore, to avoid a repeat of this scenario, LCFC must purchase a reasonably-priced backup.

How has Arnaut Danjuma performed?

Arnaut Danjuma is a 24-year-old Dutch left-winger, playing for recently-relegated Bournemouth. He has some Premier League experience, making 14 appearances in 2019/20, unfortunately without any goal involvements. This, however, was partly due to Bournemouth’s struggles and injury which prevented consistent involvement in the side.

Without Ryan Fraser in front of him, Danjuma has been afforded regular opportunities in the Championship this season. Subsequently, he has found his feet with an impressive 17 goals and 7 assists in 35 appearances; enough to make the Whoscored Championship team of the season with an average rating of 7.21. Highlights reels are dubious evidence, but Danjuma has showcased a potent mix of excellent finishing and composure in front of goal, as well as tricky dribbling. If you want to see his goals, this can be viewed here.

Danjuma possesses several similarities to Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes which is welcome news. Statistically, they both are high shot takers, with around 2 per game each, and are adept ball carriers, with close to 2 dribbles a game. From the stats, a player’s style can also be inferred, along with watching match footage. Both are direct wingers with skill, pace and finishing, something that Barnes has massively improved last campaign. Allowing key players to be rested would reduce the number of injuries resulting from overuse, Barnes being a victim of this. Nevertheless, this is with the caveat that Danjuma can cut it in the Premier League.

One more concerning area in Danjuma’s game is his defensive contribution, labelled as “very weak” on Whoscored. Having not watched much of the Cherries, this could be down to his role in their side or laziness. Brendan Rodgers would undoubtedly ensure such contribution would improve under his watch. Nevertheless, Cengiz Ünder has shown that talent alone without a good work ethic to match is inadequate.

Evaluating the viability of this transfer for Leicester City

With Bournemouth failing to secure promotion back to the EPL, the precarious finances outside the top-flight may force them to raise funds through selling players. Whilst various sources have reported Leicester City’s interest in Danjuma, there is no evidence suggesting any formal approach has been initiated. As such, speculation remains speculation until further evidence.

Having bought the winger for nearly £15 million, the Cherries may demand something in the region of £20-30 million, given the winger’s form. In FoL’s opinion, Danjuma is a solid player who deserves to play in the Premier League, yet Leicester City must not pay over the odds for someone who remains a star Championship player until proven otherwise.

For a fee of around £20 million or under, Danjuma seems a reasonably solid purchase. However, for anything more, the Foxes may be better served looking elsewhere, since where money is tight, the value becomes ever more important. This would allow LCFC to focus on other, more pressing concerns.