With the star midfielder signing for Chelsea in a £30m deal, Leicester City will need to dip into the transfer market to find a player who can bring goals and assists to Steve Cooper’s squad
Now that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is a Chelsea player, Leicester City will have to sign a replacement capable of filling the 25-year-old’s sizeable boots.
Finding an exact replacement is impossible, of course. Because of Dewsbury-Hall’s rise through the City academy, no incoming signing will ne able to replicate the connection the homegrown player had with supporters at the King Power Stadium.
But there will be plenty of players around who could provide what Dewsbury-Hall did for the club from a technical standpoint. Here, we have listed six potential players for City to take a look at as the club’s transfer business takes a serious turn….
Callum O’Hare
City may not need to look any further than down the M69 for their Dewsbury-Hall replacement. There they’ll find Callum O’Hare, who would be the most convenient of the potential signings in attacking midfield.
The 26-year-old’s departure from Coventry was announced this week after the Sky Blues unable to convince him to sign a new deal. That means he’s available for free. And growing up in the Midlands, having come through the ranks at Aston Villa, he may want a new club that’s reasonably close to home.
City could offer him that, and a place in the Premier League. Would he be good enough for the top flight? There’s enough there to say the answer is yes. Once he’d recovered from an ACL tear last term and built his fitness again, the 26-year-old went on a run of nine goals and four assists in 15 outings during the winter, including a brace against the Foxes.
However, he didn’t end the season in the best of form. He contributed to just one goal from mid-February onwards, albeit it was in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.
Gabriel Sara
Another Championship star to take a closer look at would be Gabriel Sara. Along with Dewsbury-Hall and Southampton’s play-off hero Adam Armstrong, Norwich City’s Brazilian was one of just three players to reach double figures for goals and assists in the Championship last season.
He was the only player in the division to rank in the top 10 for key passes, passes into the final third and passes into the penalty area, while he’s got a decent set-piece delivery on him as well. City would have to act quick if they wanted him though, as it seems he’s being eyed by Roma.
Cameron Puertas
Looking overseas, 25-year-old Swiss midfielder Cameron Puertas stands out after a terrific campaign in Belgium for Union SG. He was named the division’s player of the year, an award previously won by Youri Tielemans, after a superb 11 goals and 19 assists in 40 matches. He impressed in Europe too, contributing to six goals in 12 games, including a winner against Liverpool.
As well as racking up big goals and assist numbers, Puertas is an excellent dribbler. Plus, he’s only got a year left on his contract at Union SG, albeit they do have the option to add another 12 months. Union SG are in Champions League qualifying later this summer, but a move to the Premier League may be a bigger draw.
Mario Stroeykens
Another midfielder from the Belgian top flight who may be on the City radar is Mario Stroeykens. He may not have the output to match Puertas, but he does have age on his side.
Stroeykens is only 19 and yet he’s already played 93 first-team matches for Anderlecht. Last season, he contributed to 12 goals in 38 league matches, while he’s another good dribbler of the ball and looks capable with both feet. If he continues at his current rate of development, he could be a household name in a few years’ time.
Kenneth Taylor
After Ajax’s underwhelming season in the Eredivisie, City may be able to lure one of their players to the Premier League. Kenneth Taylor has grown into a key member of their squad in the past two years and is now contributing more to the attack.
Coming through as a defensive midfielder, the 22-year-old was used more often in an attacking role last season, and he finished with eight goals and six assists, including a couple in the Europa League.
Rodrigo Zalazar
Uruguayan international Rodrigo Zalazar is another excellent technician that City could look at. The 24-year-old Braga man has the dribbling and passing qualities you would expect of a midfielder at a Champions League club, but he’s not afraid to do the hard work going backwards either.
After taking some time to get going in his first season in Portugal, Zalazar finished last term with eight goals and 10 assists. But given it has only been one year since he signed from Schalke, Braga may be reluctant to part with him so soon, driving up his price.
