Leicester may spend some Fofana profit on this winger

Leicester City are looking to strengthen following the record sale of Wesley Fofana. Here is an update on one of the players targeted by the Foxes.

Four games in, one point gained, bottom of the table, and another record sale of a defender. The King Power club are one thin ice with cash in the bank. Desperation is sure to set in as gaps need to be filled quickly with little time remaining in the transfer window.

An example is our reported interest in Schalke 04’s Amine Harit. The Moroccan was on loan at Olympique Marseille over the course of the 21/22 season, and has clearly gained our attention.

Leicester City’s ‘what to know’

When deciding whether or not to use up some of that vital Fofana cash on a player, it is key to first understand several aspects around their talent: their position sense, flexibility, prolific nature and transfer value. I shall go through each in turn.

Harit has played for Schalke for a long time, primarily performing his duties from within the archetypical attacking-midfield position. However, this has not been the Moroccan’s only position of impact. In fact, during his spell on loan at Marseille, Harit was not much of a midfielder, a position we may yet require reinforcements.

Utilised heavily in the forward line, the 25-year-old could start on the right, left, or centre of a typical front three. This being said, his flexibility to offer a myriad of roles was particularly utilised during this spell, with the player shifting from position to position, role to role.

For example, as a striker, Harit would typically move – a lot- all over the front. Drifting wide, coming deeper to collect the ball, and making midfield-style runs through the channels. This is not the player’s best role, although at least keeps Harit involved in the game.

Now, statistically, the Moroccan has not been the most prolific of players. Although heavily involved, while on loan he scored four goals and assisted four others. Eight attacking returns for an attacking player is not impressive. At least he is contributing.

On top of this, Schalke are only asking for around £8.4m and could probably be convinced to allow the player to move out on loan again. To be honest, that is not a lot of money and on a short and not too high contract this transfer could represent value for a 25-year-old.

There are a plethora of ways Leicester City could spend that injection of funds from Chelsea, but it seems there are few better ways than investing at least part of that into new players and filling gaps. Harit is versatile, but not a prolific expert in any position. I would steer clear.