Leicester City centre back Caglar Soyuncu is the subject of hot transfer interest for this summer window. Here are the clubs in for him and an update.
The King Power club brought in the Turkish international in 2018 when few had heard about him. ‘Cags’ first season was spent in the shadow of Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire: his strength could not outweigh Maguire’s ability. The Turk seldom featured.
However, in the seasons since, Soyuncu made himself a regular in both Claude Puel’s side and Brendan Rodgers’ squad. A strong defender, seldom slipping up, but also incredibly feisty when not placed alongside compatriot Evans.
Despite a rough 21/22 season, the Foxes’ Turkish international remains wanted by top Premier League and foreign teams. There is an undeniable quality, and it is often the fate of a Leicester player to move on towards bigger teams for good fees.
Leicester City in preliminary talks
According to reports, the King Power club are in discussions with Italian giants Inter Milan. The validity of these reports is questionable, though the content is rather banal: the Turk is merely being monitored as clubs probe Leicester for his transfer status. Please now click the link directly underneath this paragraph to read the second page of the article.
Now, with these talks being preliminary, there exists little doubt there is interest in the player and that Rodgers’ side are looking to bring in a fresh centre back. All that has been asked of the Foxes is an enquiry as to his status, that is it: there is no guarantee any club will bring in a bid.
It is believed that alongside the Italian side, Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester City and fellow Serie A giant Juventus are equally interested. Any move would depend upon what the Foxes want out of the deal.
For Chelsea, replacing Antonio Rudiger is a priority. For the Inter, it only makes sense with Stefen de Vrij possibly moving on. For ‘Juve’, partnering Soyuncu with Merih Demiral only makes sense. There are myriad reasons to buy an experienced international. For Leicester then, the question is whether we would want to sell.
Why Leicester should not sell
The Foxes should sell the Turkish international in only one set of circumstances. That is, there must be a requirement for having already secured an improvement or replacement, alongside sales of Daniel Amartey and promotion for Ben Nelson. In any other situation, the player must be retained.
The defender remains high quality despite a season in which he was perfectly sound but made more mistakes than previous. Importantly, the environment in which he made mistakes was not Cags’ fault.
Constantly switching partners, a significantly worse defender in Amartey, and a midfield struggling to control games or shield the backline all contributed to giving the Turk much more work to do. Otherwise, despite not being anywhere near the standards of previous seasons, the defender remains one of our best. The centre back has been at the mercy of a trash season for the club, with injury crises and incessant inconsistency.
Unless Leicester City are getting over £35m for the player and could purchase a replacement, there is no way we are in a position to lose Soyuncu. Say the Foxes are without, then the second team becomes Jannik Vestergaard and Amartey – simply not upper league material.
The only concern I would have is the contractual context. With 2023 swiftly approaching, the risk of losing the crucial player is amplified. A new contract must be awarded to the player, or we are risking too much money to not cash in this window.
Do you think Leicester should sell the Turkish international this window, or should they retain the now experienced defender? Let Foxes of Leicester know on our social media channels.