The King Power Club have had a troubled season thus far in the EFL Championship. With just 1.41 points on average per game played, this would be a mid-table season to forget for Foxes supporters. However, there is still time for Marti Cifuentes' team to turn the situation around.
Arguably, it would require a transfer window to uplift the team. We have already discussed some dream signings from rival Championship sides in a previous article. This time, we are exploring which of the current free agents could help transform this midtable team into one that could win. Here are three free agents who would improve Leicester City.
Three free agents Leicester City should sign
Leicester are in desperate need of reinforcements across the board, with no position really being 100%: mostly due to inadequate starting players and a lack of depth. For me, then, we need a left-back who can come into the starting XI, immediately replacing our current choices, a left-winger to offer versatility and creativity, and a striker who can rotationally come on to keep pressing high while offering some defensive contributions.
Sergio Reguilon
The former Tottenham Hotspur left-back, Sergio Reguilon. At 5 ft 10 in., the Spanish defender would represent an immediate and significant improvement on our current options, while also being one of the best fullbacks in the league. I would also contend that there is a strong stylistic fit with Cifuentes' supposedly fluid possession-based system.
Statistically, it is difficult to work out where the player would be currently. With a small sample size of only 195 minutes in the Premier League (2024-25 season) alone, it is difficult to accurately determine whether Reguilon would directly contribute. However, analysing the data from the 2023-24 season (when he played 1,536 minutes), we find a player who boasted above-average, high percentile, defensive, pressing, creative, and shot-creating actions (87th percentile).
Stylistically, then, the East Midlands outfit would benefit from a ball-dominant and aggressive left-back who loves to place a pacy early cross into the box, as well as setting up opportunities for aerially-sound strikers and inside forwards. This is an aspect of the game we are missing: an overlapping, creative, and early-crossing progressive left-back who boasts strong defensive actions higher up the pitch. This could help stop attacks before they reach our lethargic defence.
At 28 years old, Sergio Reguilon is in the prime years of a fullback: experienced, but not yet in full physical decline, and plenty of energy left in the locker. The real negative here would be the wage. I would expect the player to command a significant wage, even without the same highs he once commanded. That is yet to be seen, but in the meantime, I would rank his suitability to Leicester around 8/10 for immediately improving the side and suiting the system.
Lorenzo Insigne
Big names. That is what the King Power needs to reenergise the crowd, get the team thruming a rhythmic beat towards goal, and importantly: create shots. That is realistically all Leicester City should concern themselves with in the coming transfer window: shot-creating actions. Well, that and expected assists.
Lorenzo Insigne had been playing for Toronto in the MLS, with 1,356 minutes of league football for the Italian left-winger retains immense creative output despite his advancing age (34). With four goals and seven assists, that works out to around 0.73 G+A per 90 minutes, slightly outperforming their expected figures (around 0.5 xG+A/90). This statistical profile indicates a player who can create for a team as an inside forward.
Stylistically, at only 5 ft 4 in. tall, Insigne offers a low centre of gravity inside forward who loves attacking half-spaces, cutting inside from wide positions, and linking up play with attacking midfielders and strikers with a high volume of passes for a left-winger (84th percentile). With a large number of touches, the Italian winger ensures they are involved in the game, where other players might lethargically surrender touches, awaiting for the team to progress the ball to them.
Due to his strong stylistic fit to a progressive left-back, possession-based systems, and strong tight-space ball retention under pressure, Lorenzo Insigne could definitely offer the Foxes something they currently lack: a bit of star power. However, high wages could make the signing unattainable, and it remains to be seen if the 34-year-old is looking to step down divisions to continue playing football for longer, or if they are waiting for a top-tier club.
Duncan Watmore
Reliable, off-the-bench, and versatile. Leicester City already have two experienced players who fit that description and can do a job, however effective they really are, but Duncan Watmore could offer the King Power side a proven-championship forward with decent attacking returns and a strong emphasis on direct, vertical plays.
Over 1,586 Championship minutes for Millwall (2024-25), the English versatile forward scored five goals and gained one assist, making his offensive contributions per 90 around 0.34. This places the striker/winger in the 84th percentile for non-penalty goals. It is also clear that with a large volume of touches in the attacking penalty zone, the player has strong off-the-ball positioning and movement, allowing the player to work well with more creative talents.
Stylistically, Watmore is persistent in pressing, chasing after balls and opposition players, and will often arrive late in the box after a deeper lay-off pass unleashes a marauding winger on their way. Despite being older at 31, they have better returns than our current strikers, would cost significantly less on wages than any of our current options, and allow us to retain our high-directional-press when we need to rotate for fitness or performance issues. The Englishman is suitable thanks to cost and versatility.
These three would change the game. An aggressive, overlapping left-back to create chances, a ball-dominant and highly technical left-winger to link up play, and a reliable rotational forward who can find the net and keep up the press. These are some of the changes Leicester City need to make, and the only obstacle remains excessive wages to current players.