We do of course have no problems to understand that fans are eager to get new players in, but for that to happen, certain players will have to depart. No budget on players not being active as we have seen in the past, when Nampalys Mendy was left out of the 25, as the club had too many players listed and had to leave out a player, that will not happen, no way.
Facundo Bounanotte could potentially leave Brighton for a fee close to £40million, with Spurs said to be eager for his signature. Bounanotte is a massively talented player, one that could be gone during January. Wout Faes, Daniel Iversen, Danny Ward, Caleb Okoli and Odsonne Eduoard are other players seen in a potential exit. Tom Cannon is also one that could trigger a full transfer away with certain criterias being achieved.
Caleb Okoli has been called up for full international duty by Italy earlier in the season. He is a quality defender and sad to see him not being able to get regular game time. Having Conor Coady, Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard also available, all three proven internationals, makes it a tricky situation.
Among this group of potential departures we do believe that Facundo Bounanotte, Wout Faes and Tom Cannon are the three players possibly having a full transfer exit. We are certain Odsonne Eduoard will be heading back to Crystal Palace. As earlier said, other players might also be leaving to add up space for new recruits.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has in some way settled with Conor Coady and Jannik Vestergaard, something that also would trigger a move for Belgian international Wout Faes, being under a load of critisism so far this season, both in internationals for his nation as well as playing for Leicester. Faes (26) was linked with a move to Spurs in the summer and would possibly be a player with a price tag around £20million. At present out of the first team due an injury, but with no plan for first team affairs, he might become a January sale.
This is the challenge for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who to ship out to get space for the players coming in. The players on the exit board must either be close to their contract end, or being able to bring in a substantial fee, as well as the club in the chase must be of a certain type of challenge for the player or offer him the contract he needs to move on, if not, you will not be able to get the player out. This is the tricky life of the January transfer window, that is why you often miss the target or ending up doing little or no business.
Last January Leicester were close to bring in Stefano Sensi, luckily it did not happen. Looking at what he has done the last year, he would surely have added little or no value at all, playing less than an hour for Monza in a year, returning to full action at the end of December.
At this point the players being linked, looks more likely to be part of a Championship mid-table challenge, than competing for a survial in Premier League. There are a few exceptions such as Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Valentin Gomez, who are players that should and would walk into the Leicester team. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is not a player to bring in at this point, having Bilal El Khannouss available, KDH would not be a certain starter.
Following the game closely over different continents, having good control of what is running, we have seen Leicester doing major errors at times regarding January transfer deals, and if this list we have at the moment is anything to go by, it’s a scary picture. The players named, besides a few as mentioned above, are all more like potential than taking on the responsibility to be a leading act in a Premier League side fighting for survival.
Leicester need to be on the shelf of players, such as James McAtee, or even higher, to challenge, if not you should stay away and stop adding more players of avarage level.
Daniel Iversen
Much of the above is also true for Daniel Iversen. The Dane would also be pushed further into the fringes by Stolarczyk’s return and he too will have just six months remaining on his City contract come January.
Derby made a move for Iversen in the summer and it would not be a surprise if there were Championship and League One clubs interested in the 27-year-old. He’s done enough in loan spells over the past few years, particularly at Preston, to show he can make the saves to win points.
Conor Coady
Conor Coady has made just one Premier League appearance this season, his substitute outing at Crystal Palace in which he conceded the late penalty. For a player who was so used to being in the starting 11 every week prior to joining City, his lack of opportunities will be a frustration for him, with the Carabao Cup exit further limiting his chances.