In one of many decisions that do look favorably on Leicester, Odsonne Edouard appears to be on the move to a club where he saw past success. The striker has not only cost LCFC a considerable amount in a loan deal, but the East Midlands side has also paid a considerable proportion of the wages.
Being sent from Crystal Palace, City paid £2.5 million in order to secure Edouard's services from the London side, according to the Telegraph. His weekly £90,000 wages were also negotiated to be mostly covered by the Foxes based on the same report.
Going out to get a player for a spell is fine. Sometimes a temporary fix is needed. There are plenty of instances where a permanent agreement can then come from it. Unfortunately for frustrated Leicester fans, there was no way of telling if it was at all worth it or not. Despite being fit enough to train and potentially make something of a difference, the striker found himself not even included in matchday selections.
Considering how poor the Foxes have been in the attack and the amount of miles Jamie Vardy already has on his legs in a losing cause, it seems that at least having him on the bench as a second reserve forward option could have happened. This is particularly true when being reminded of the price tag.
Instead, Ruud van Nistelrooy has stuck with his defensive five-back and one-striker system, essentially dictating for the Dutchman that only Vardy and Patson Daka needed to be included in the squad.
Leicester City possibility that would have been worth exploring
Considering how poorly everything has gone, opening things up and potentially going in a 4-4-2 or having either Daka or Edouard play with Vardy in a center-forward position seems to have been a possibility worth exploring. Maybe in the remaining days of the campaign, the relegation-bound Foxes will try a more attack-minded approach.
If nothing else, in games that got out of hand earlier, subbing Vardy off and giving someone else another run could have proved helpful for the team. Yes, the longtime LCFC player will undoubtedly have wanted to always stay on no matter what, but being a manager means sometimes overruling the athlete and looking for the best interest of the club legend.
Either way, for now, the Edouard inclusion in this year's plans just provides another instance of a misaligned operation wasting resources and opportunities. The attack was never at a point where exploring other options couldn't be afforded to be explored. Instead, the Palace player will now return to his parent club without having seen the pitch in any noteworthy capacity. The Daily Record indicates that a pairing for Edouard and Celtic Rangers under Brendan Rodgers could be in the works. That looks to be the best possible move for 'French Eddy.'