Why Leicester City have bagged a coup by signing Caglar Soyuncu
According to Leicestershire Live, manager Claude Puel has confirmed that Caglar Soyuncu is officially a Leicester City player, thus putting an end to the rumours regarding the deal not being completed before the transfer deadline day. Although the player is expected to arrive soon, he won’t be considered match fit for the weekend clash against Wolves.
Puel has signed quite a few reinforcements to bolster his defence after the exit of seasoned campaigner Robert Huth. After signing Filip Benkovic from Dinamo Zagreb and Jonny Evans from West Brom, Puel has now completed the signing of Turkish international Caglar Soyuncu from Bundesliga side Freiburg for £19million.
Puel started Wes Morgan alongside Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence against Manchester United but the 34-year-old Morgan seemed to run out of gas as the game wore on. Puel obviously has the option of using Yohan Benalouane but the 31-year-old is not the best reader of the game to earn the role of a regular starter.
The signing of Soyuncu, Evans and Benkovic will definitely add a lot of solidity to the Foxes backline. Benkovic, 21, and Soyuncu, 22, can be good defensive assets for the club in the long run along with Harry Maguire. The arrival of the versatile Portuguese international Ricardo Perreira from Porto has had a positive impact as far the team dynamics are concerned, with the player capable of playing as a right-back and also as a right-midfielder.
The Turkish international emerged onto the scene after signing for Freiburg a couple of seasons ago and has never looked back since. He has shown composure that belies his age and has all the qualities to play in the Premier League.
Although a centre-half by trade, Soyuncu is technically very good with the ball at his feet and excels in dribbling as well. Standing at 6ft 2inches, the 22-year-old is good in the air and has a commanding presence in the penalty area.
He can be termed as a long-range playmaker due to his game-reading ability, intercepting skills and his ability to play long balls with precision from the defensive zone to set up counter-attacks.
He does lack a bit of discipline at certain times and has the tendency to pick up yellow cards but makes up for his flaws with his superior technical abilities. Puel should eventually hand him a start next weekend and Soyuncu should be the first choice to partner Maguire at the back in the long run. With Benkovic and Evans on the bench, Puel won’t have too many worries when it comes to defensive options.
The signing of Caglar Soyuncu may just prove to be the most crucial deal for the Foxes this season. With plenty of midfield and attacking options, solidity at the back is what Puel needed in order to assemble a solid unit and now with the Turkish youngster in the ranks, Leicester definitely look strong on paper.