leicester city have beaten burnley to the signing of Villarreal forward Ben Brereton Diaz.prior to Iheanacho’s departure……
The Foxes have been the standout performers in the league so far this season, but it is likely they are going to want to strengthen their side further in the upcoming January transfer window.
Leicester have been linked with a few players in recent weeks and months, with the latest name emerging being former Blackburn Rovers striker Brereton Diaz.
The Chilean ended his five-year stint with the Lancashire side in the summer to join Spanish side Villarreal on a free transfer.
However, it is a move that doesn’t seem to have worked out so far and TEAMtalk are reporting that Leicester, as well as Crystal Palace, Burnley, Southampton, and West Brom are all interested in bringing the forward back to England.
It is a move that would seem to make sense for Leicester, especially if current forward Kelechi Iheanacho were to leave the club.
Could Kelechi Iheanacho leave Leicester City in January?
The Foxes saw a number of high-profile players leave the club in the summer, and therefore, Enzo Maresca will be keen to get to the end of the season with his squad fully intact.
While he didn’t move in the summer, Iheanacho was linked with a move away on several occasions, as teams from the Premier League and even Saudi Arabia were said to be interested in the striker.
The 27-year-old was linked with a move to Crystal Palace, Everton and Serie A side Roma during the summer, but a move never happened.
Iheanacho has been an important player for Leicester this season, chipping in with five goals, but the forward is in the final months of his contract and the club find themselves in a tricky situation when January arrives.
| Kelechi Iheanacho’s stats per club (As it stands November 7th, per Transfermarkt) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| Leicester City | 223 | 61 | 35 |
| Manchester City | 64 | 21 | 8 |
| Leicester City U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Manchester City U21 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
According to TEAMtalk, Premier League sides including West Ham, Brentford, and Palace are all interested in signing Iheanacho in January.
So, if Iheanacho were to leave, Leicester should be going all out to sign Brereton Diaz as his replacement.
Why should Leicester City look to sign Ben Brereton Diaz if Kelechi Iheanacho leaves?
As expected, Leicester came down from the Premier League with a lot of attacking options and options that were too good for the Championship.
So it could be said that the Foxes don’t need to add to their forward line as they are already leading the Championship and seem to have enough goals in their side.
However, if Iheanacho were to leave Leicester, they couldn’t solely rely on Jamie Vardy to seal their promotion for the rest of the campaign.
Therefore, if the Nigerian international were to leave in January and the links to Brereton Diaz are true, then Leicester need to push and secure the deal ahead of the likes of Southampton and Burnley.
Brereton Diaz is very much proven in this league, as in his last two seasons he has scored 22 and 14 goals, respectively.
Last season, while scoring 14 goals and recording four assists, his all-round game was at a very high level. He averaged 2.5 shots per game, 0.8 dribbles, and had a pass success rate of 75.7%, which led to him recording an average of 0.9 key passes, as per WhoScored.com.
Many expect Leicester to finish the season in the position they are in now, and that would be further strengthened if they did secure the signing of Brereton Diaz, as he could become Leicester’s leading man and his goals could easily take the club over the finishing line.
Furthermore, they would be adding a serious striker to their ranks whether they are in the Championship or Premier League next season, and it would also stop a promotion rival in Southampton from signing the forward.
Given Leicester’s current options and the situations the strikers are in, it makes perfect sense for Leicester to upgrade their forward line and bring in a player like Brereton Dia
