As the January transfer window fast approaches, Leicester City will likely be looking to bring in new players to help improve on what has been a poor start to the season.
With injuries and COVID leaving us with already very few options to choose from at the back. Plus the African Cup of Nations, where we will lose Wilfred Ndidi and Daniel Amartey from our backline. Brendan Rodgers will likely be in the market for at least one, if not a couple of solid defenders to bring in.
Leicester Mercury reports that there are three potential defenders that the Foxes could go for next month.
Lucas Digne to Leicester City?
Digne is an outcast figure at Everton as he has fallen out of favour with Rafa Benitez. After starting the majority of games since joining the Merseyside outfit in 2018, and even captaining the side as recently as October, the French defender has been left out of the last three matchday squads since falling out with Benitez.
Digne has been one of the standout left-backs in the Premier League since joining from Barcelona and is well equipped to be useful at both ends of the pitch. The Frenchman has scored four goals and provided 20 assists in his time at Everton making him a handy playmaker to have from the back.
The issue that Leicester face is that they already have surplus left-backs with Luke Thomas and Ryan Bertrand both being a natural in that position. While James Justin and Timothy Castagne have also proven they are more than capable of playing on the left.
However, with injuries plaguing the squad, and Bertrand failing to live up to the promising performances from the pre-season, the Foxes will likely need to bring in another left-back if they want to get something out of this season.
The Frenchman will most likely be loaned out for the remainder of the season unless a side is willing to pay what would be a large transfer fee due to him being contracted with the Toffees until 2025. Leicester City will likely be searching for loan deals with the aim of making them permanent so this is a deal that could work for LCFC although they will face stiff competition for his signature.
Chelsea have already been linked with the Everton defender after Ben Chilwell picked up an ACL injury in November leaving his left-back spot vacant, meaning that Rodgers will have his work cut out for him if he wants to convince the Toffee to join LCFC.
Nat Phillips
A fringe member at Liverpool, Phillips has been linked with a departure from Jurgen Klopp’s side in January. The centre-back sits low in the pecking order of one of the leagues best defences units so now could be the time to go for him.
Jurgen Klopp has previously stated he would not stand in the way should the 24-year-old wish to depart Anfield. Phillips was given his first real chance to impress last season when Liverpool went through an injury crisis of his own, making 17 appearances in the league.
However, this season he has struggled to break into the line-up, making just the three appearances, two in the Champions League, and one in the League Cup. It is unlikely that Phillips will break into the starting side anytime soon, so he could be allowed to leave on a reasonably cheap deal should the right club come forward.
Although he does seem to have promising potential, it is hard to see him making regular appearances with the Foxes in a full strength side in the near future at least. However, he would definitely be an improvement on Jannik Vestergaard, who has struggled since joining Leicester City. Therefore he may be a decent addition to the side to allow us to no longer be forced to play midfielders in defence.
James Tarkowski
It wouldn’t be a transfer window without Tarkowski being linked with a move away from Burnley to Leicester City or other clubs of similar stature. The Manchester-born centre-back is at the peak of his career at 29-years-old and once again has been brought up as a potential target for the Foxes.
I remember there was once a time when I thought that Tarkowski would depart Turf Moor during a transfer window. Nowadays, the sight of this rumour is nothing more than a common occurrence that will likely not even happen.
However, the defender’s contract expires at the end of this season so Burnley may be willing to cash-in and accept a fee while they still can for their star centre-back. But with Sean Dyche’s side facing a relegation battle, it seems unlikely that they would be willing to depart with their best player and face almost certain relegation, unless a hefty was made.
Subsequently, it seems likely that if a transfer was to occur, it would be a highly inflated deal that the east Midlands side probably wouldn’t be willing to spend, as has been the occurrence almost every transfer window in the last three years when we’ve been linked with him. Tarkowski is one of the most dominant players aerially in the league so would be a welcome addition to Leicester City, who as we know have been struggling from set pieces for the last 18 months.
However with competition from Newcastle who have a far greater transfer budget thanks to their recent takeover, it seems unlikely that this is a deal we would be able to win this window.