Foxes of Leicester
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Exclusive transfer info: Leicester want free agent to replace Tielemans

By Elliot Mackness

BREMEN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 11: Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund looks on during the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund at Wohninvest Weserstadion on February 11, 2023 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)
BREMEN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 11: Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund looks on during the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund at Wohninvest Weserstadion on February 11, 2023 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City
Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund, a Leicester City transfer target (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images) /

Leicester have been name-checked, and though this only confirms us as ‘interested fc’ it at least provides a glimpse of what sort of business the club is looking into doing. Namely, they want to save money filling in gaps while spending their money elsewhere to improve squad depth.

What to know

So, I guess the question is why the Foxes are in for Dahoud in the first place: what makes him the talent. To be blunt, there are likely three primary factors: lack of a transfer fee, experience, and urgency. The King Power club needs to save money on players with a winning mentality and prepare themselves for the impending shakeup.

However, positionally and stylistically, the player is rather simple. As FB Ref illustrate, the German-Syrian midfielder is a typical progressive central midfielder. Box-to-box as Sofascore’s heatmaps equally show. Not shockingly dissimilar to Tielemans.

The difference is perhaps qualitative rather than stylistic. Dahoud is within the 84th percentile for expected assists, 81st for progressive carries, 77th for tackles attempted, and 73rd for passes attempted. The Starman is simply better in each category, adds shooting to this repertoire, and offers more active defensive work.

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