Leicester City Opinion: Can Domenico Berardi make an impact for the Foxes?
When Manchester City attempted to sign Riyad Mahrez from Leicester, it was evident that the move would go through. Like most Pep Guardiola signings, the Cityzens shelled out a big fee for the Algerian and Leicester City, on the other hand, have struggled since then.
While they promoted Demarai Gray up the pecking order and added Rachid Ghezzal, neither has managed to impress. However, re-calling Harvey Barns to their squad seems to have done the trick and with James Maddison in the side, the Foxes have a decent chance of replacing Mahrez.
Nevertheless, the club needs another winger and signing someone who’s eager to impress and is possibly looking for the chance to take the next step in his career would work well. While new manager Brendan Rodgers will have his list of stars, one of them has to be Domenico Berardi.
The Sassuolo man is a lot like Mahrez, with a brilliant left foot and talent to match. A stunning player on his day, the 24-year-old has had more than his fair share of injury issues that have seen him struggle.
However, on his day, the Italian can singlehandedly change a game, thanks to his wide variety of skills. This includes dead-ball ability, pace, agility, creativity and a lethal eye for goal.
Berardi’s last three seasons have seen him net a rather modest 28 goals but before that, the Italian winger hit double figures consistently.
This includes 16 goals in his debut Serie A season with Sassuolo but injuries raise questions about his adaptability. However, the 24-year-old will be perfect for Leicester City and should find his footing in the Premier League under new manager Brendan Rodgers.
Domenico Berardi needs to find his way outside Italy and while his talent has never been doubted, his consistency has been. And if there is one manager who can sort that out, it’s Rodgers.
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The former Liverpool boss has done that for Moussa Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and many others during his managerial career so far. However, with AS Roma (Sport) in the race for the 24-year-old, things could get complicated in the near future.
But if Leicester City can convince him to join, things would be different. Their right-hand side has looked a little bare and while Ricardo Pereira has made an impact since arriving, the Portuguese right-back cannot do everything.
Adding Berardi will add another dimension, and that’s something the Foxes desperately need at the moment.