After enduring a relatively frustrating three-year stint at Leicester City, new transfer rumours are suggesting that midfielder Dennis Praet may be exiting the club before the summer transfer window closes. Rory Kejzerko examines the scenario.
As per reports from the Daily Mail, Leicester’s inaugural Champions League opponents of 2016, Club Bruges, appear to be the front runners in signing the 28-year-old. It’s fair to say that the consensus surrounding the midfielder’s time at the club is somewhat unanimous.
Praet is essentially the epitome of what people would call a ‘tidy’ player- wherein everything he does is performed with conviction and style- however despite such talent, his actual impact when it comes to effecting games leaves a lot to be desired. The Belgian’s mere three goals and five assists in 61 appearances for The Foxes backs this statement up, however, to add full context to his contributions, 30 of his appearances in blue have come from off the bench.
In hindsight, Praet’s Leicester career has largely been plagued by the fact that his fellow central-midfield countryman, Youri Tielemans- who Leicester City signed on a permanent deal during the same 2019 summer transfer window- has, until recent times, been undroppable. With Wilfred Ndidi being Leicester’s ever present ‘CDM’, and James Maddison unquestionably being the club’s most creative midfielder, the majority of Rodger’s line-ups have only allowed for one of the Belgians to occupy the No.8 position.
As Foxes fans will already know, when both players are fit and in their pomp, the industrial but quality-ridden Tielemans always gets the nod in this situation. To make matters worse, Praet has also missed 19 games due to injury throughout his time in the East Midlands, as well as another 19 games during his season-long loan at Italian side Torino.
Speaking on Praet’s time in Turin during the 2021/22 season, he showed glimpses of class once again. However, the ex-Sampdoria man was never able to make a real impact across the season, nor gain any momentum because of injuries. In turn, this has meant that the two clubs have been unable to agree a permanent transfer fee for the player, which is why he is back within the fold at Seagrave.
Whether Praet makes the move back to his native country may largely depend on the whereabouts of Tielemans come the end of the transfer window, as well as whether City put their hand in their pocket to find a direct replacement. If Tielemans does end up getting his desired move away from the King Power, it is likely that Rodgers may want to keep Praet in order to maintain a decent level of squad depth.
On the flip side, if Tielemans plays out his final year at the club, Rodgers may be more inclined to let Praet leave. A similar essence of logic may also be applied to Boubakary Soumare’s rumoured transfer to Crystal Palace, however given that the Frenchman is even further down the central midfield pecking order, it is difficult to calculate how interdependent the three players are when it comes to Rodgers’ plans.
As Leicester fans, what is of most interest to us is whether we’ll ever see Praet hit real form in City shirt if he were to stay. Irrespective of his unquestionable ‘tidiness’ and attitude, it would be logical to assume that injuries will continue to plague his playing career in the future, which, in conjunction with a lack of game time (or lack of starting eleven certainty), may prohibit him from ever gaining real momentum at the club.
Even if this is not the case (and he remains injury free), questions around his effectiveness in matches will then have to be answered. Given his relatively scarce contributions across the past three seasons, it is, again, logical to assume that his ‘tidy’ but ineffective playing style may continue in the future. With such possibilities being on the cards, Praet making a move away from the King Power may be a good decision for all parties involved.