Leicester’s transfer rumour round-up: a fox hunt to replace the legend

Leicester City need a busy transfer window; not just to get top four, but also to replace the legend, Jamie Vardy. Here are the rumours and our verdict.

For the second season running, Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City side managed to challenge for top four throughout the whole season. This time, they won the Emirates FA Cup for the first time in their history.

However, the disappointment of finishing fifth after being the only team to have stayed in the top four from the start of the season is still very real. To remedy this, the King Power side will need a busy transfer window to bring in new energy and quality.

And on top of that, the Foxes need to come to terms with the ever-closer departure of club legend Jamie Vardy.

Leicester City’s targets

We all remember what happened last season with our forwards: Harvey Barnes got injured, Demarai Grey was sold, Cengiz Under was out of favour, Jamie Vardy’s form fell off a cliff, and Kelechi Iheanacho turned up in the final third of the season.

So, they need to complete the front three with a winger, get depth, and begin integrating a Vardy replacement.

Odsonne Edouard leads the race to be the striker who will compete with Iheanacho for a first team space, as well as eventually replacing the legend. Personal terms have been agreed for some time, and a fee of around £15-20m is believed to have been agreed with Celtic FC for the transfer. Medical to come.

Other targets included Tammy Abraham, Gerard Moreno, and Ivan Toney. Ivan Toney became off the table when Brentford finally won promotion to the Premier League, whereas the expected Edouard signing has ended the search for a striker.

Rachid Ghezzal is leaving this summer after his successful loan spell. Several clubs are interested in signing the Algerian winger, though no concrete details have emerged as to which club leads the race.

Enquiries have been made for several wingers: Jeremie Boga, Noni Madueke, Jonas Hofmann, and Daniel James foremost amongst them. James and Madueke are the favourites at the moment.

Over the initial weeks of the transfer window, no winger has rushed ahead of any other target. The Foxes may be unwilling to pay in excess of value due to the return of Kamal Sowah from his productive loan with OH Leuven.

Expect to wait until after the Euros are completed for a more concrete idea of which winger Brendan Rodgers’ side are pursuing their interest in. We should pay attention to Daniel James, as he may want to leave Manchester United for more regular football.