3 Players Leicester City should try to sign in January
By Will Kennedy
Jesse Lingard is right for Leicester City
Jesse Lingard is the biggest name that is guaranteed to be available in January and would no doubt improve the Foxes squad. The 28-year-old England international was unstoppable during his loan stint with West Ham in 2020/21, scoring 9 goals and assisting 5 times in his 16 appearances with the Hammers.
So far this season, he has only appeared in 8 Premier League games, scoring twice, but most of these showings have been off of the bench. He isn’t performing badly; he is just out of favour at Manchester United.
United were hit with a blow earlier this season when Lingard confirmed that he would not be extending his expiring contract, meaning that he would leave his boyhood club on a free at the end of the season. The Red Devils may not be content with this though, so a January move would be allowed to generate some profit from the attacker.
Lingard plays across the attack, primarily playing as a centre attacking midfielder. He can also play on both sides of the win and excelled whenever he played as a centre forward for West Ham.
In the summer, it was rumoured that teams would have to pay more than £20m to secure Lingard’s services, now the number is around £10m, which is an absolute steal for an attacker just approaching his peak. We all saw what a confident Lingard can do, for Leicester it would be a major plus to have him doing that week-in week-out at the King Power.
Lingard would fit well at Leicester, he’d provide serious competition to James Maddison – a man who has had mixed form up until recently – as well as Ayoze Perez who, as much as it pains me to say, should be replaced. Lingard offers serious versatility across the attacking line; it would be silly to pass down the opportunity to have him.
As to be expected, West Ham are the favourites right now, and Lingard is continually flirting with his former side on social media. However, if Leicester can make a serious bid, it may just cause Lingard to reconsider his next club. This is one to keep your eye out for.