Things to know about Leicester City transfer target Joe Worrall
Leicester City are monitoring the situation of Championship defender Joe Worrall ahead of a possibly busy transfer window. Here is what you should know.
According to reports, the King Power club are closely following the Nottingham Forest centre-back, suggesting they might move for the player should the Midlands club not attain promotion to the Premier League. Forest will hope they can finally get back into the topflight.
Nevertheless, the English defender has been solid at the back and during set-pieces, an area the Foxes have been the exact opposite. So, let us have a look at some stats and what we need to understand about this link.
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Leicester City’s backup
Firstly, you must get an idea of the summer transfer policy being employed by the King Power side. It is clear that Brendan Rodgers would like to see a refresh of the team, with changes in defence, midfield, and attack.
Alongside that, Rodgers’ team will want to recruit players intelligently. No obscenely high transfer fees or risks will be tolerated. I expect a combination of experienced and solid players – not particularly flashy – as well as the one or two sensation targets.
Worrall is a 25-year-old solid defender. That is about all you need to know. Statistically he has been one of the best central defenders in the Championship. According to Sofascore, he has achieved 1.9 tackles, 1.8 interceptions, and 3.1 clearances per game in the Championship alone.
Comparing that to Caglar Soyuncu, we see an interesting story. The Turkish defender played less, had more clearances, a worse dribble quantity and success rate, a worse long passing than the English CB. Leicester needs a versatile yet strong defender who can be a progressive force if needed.
This is where ‘Cags’ was great in previous seasons. Unfortunately, due to the destruction of his partnerships with injuries, he never got going, never got settled, and did not gain the confidence for this pivotal role. Worrall has had less pressure on him and has gained more confidence in doing this. Oh yeah, he also scored against LCFC in the atrocious 2021/22 FA Cup loss.
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This is all well and good, but Worrall is not first on our list. Nor is the player a priority. Unless we see moves away and gaps appear in our backline and depth, I doubt he will be acquired. However, he would be available for around £10-15m depending if they are promoted or not.