Two Players Likely To Leave Leicester City In The January Window
Former English champions Leicester City have not been the same side since their miraculous title triumph in the 2015-16 season and they even failed to grab a top-half finish last season. Claudio Ranieri, the architect of their glorious realm, was eventually sacked and Craig Shakespeare, Leicester’s assistant manager, was promoted to manage the senior side for the remainder of the previous campaign.
Shakespeare had an impressive spell that earned him a permanent role this term but a spell of disastrous outcomes resulted in his dismissal as well. Claude Puel, the former Southampton boss, has succeeded the Englishman at King Power Stadium and he helped his side script a resurgence in recent weeks. The Foxes are now 8th in the league tally and their scintillating run of form is reminiscent of the quality football they offered a couple of years back.
The Foxes, however, lost both N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater, two of their midfield maestros to Chelsea in successive seasons. They, on the other hand, have brought in plenty of new resources to keep pace with the league’s ‘Big Six’ and continue the legacy. A few of them have settled in well but some big money moves have failed to live up to their billing. Puel is likely to expect a few exits in the winter, even though a couple of them only moved in last summer completing high-profile switches. Here are two such players who could leave the club in January.
Ahmed Musa
The 25-year-old Nigerian joined the Foxes for a then club record £16.6 million fee from Russian big guns CSKA Moscow and his great goal-scoring run continued during the pre-season as he made an immediate impact while featuring against Barcelona in the 2016 International Champions Cup. But the Nigerian attacker failed to replicate the same quality in the league and eventually slipped down the pecking order this season.
He is yet to make any appearances in the league this term and is currently playing for the Foxes’ reserves. His only senior appearance was against Sheffield United in a League Cup tie where he netted once in his side’s 4-1 triumph. Musa is one of the most experienced stars of his country but his lack of first-team football will hinder Nigeria’s gameplan for next year’s FIFA World Cup. The player is certainly not in manager’s plan and likely to leave during next month to fix his club career.
Islam Slimani
Slimani was acquired by the Foxes for the then club record fee of £35million and his great goal-scoring traits for Sporting CP made him one of the most intriguing signings of summer 2016. The Algerian marksman, however, failed to secure a regular first-team slot over Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki but he did impress in cameo appearances last season.
However, the 29-year-old centre-forward’s playing time has been further cut short this campaign as he only managed 118 Premier League minutes and although Slimani has netted a few in League Cup outings, he deserves more game time and is expected to make a decision regarding his future when the transfer window reopens in January. A player of his stature will have many suitors but ultimately it will all come down to him to make the proper choice this time around.
Meanwhile, the likes of Leonardo Ulloa and Kelechi Iheanacho are also keen on clocking more playing minutes. Ulloa has admirers from the Championship but he might be retained as a decent backup option. Iheanacho must be patient for the time being after his high-profile summer move failed miserably. He is still a promising youngster with enormous potential and must be patient to have his chances in order to impress the gaffer.