Why Leicester City should look at Ronan Darcy as one for the future

According to Leicestershire Live, Leicester City have been linked with a move for Bolton Wanderers starlet Ronan Darcy, with the Foxes looking to add more to their envious pool of talented youngsters at the club.

The 18-year-old attacker, who made his senior debut for Bolton in a 1-0 defeat away at Nottingham Forest on the final day of the previous campaign in the Championship, has enjoyed considerable first-team involvement in League One this term.

Darcy has already made a total of 8 appearances for the Trotters across all competitions in the ongoing season, including 6 in League One, and scored his first senior goal in a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Rochdale in the EFL Cup back in August.

Having been relegated from the Championship at the end of last season, Bolton are currently staring down the barrel in League One, placed rock-bottom in the standings after starting the season with a 12-point deduction due to their financial troubles.

With the Trotters yet to win a league fixture this term, the ignominy of back-to-back relegations is already looming large at the Macron Stadium but the young and talented Ronan Darcy has caught the eye, nonetheless.

The 18-year-old has started on four occasions in League One and while he is yet to bag his first league goal for his boyhood club, Darcy’s promise and potential have been there for everybody to see.

Essentially a right-footed centre-forward by trade, Darcy has played in a number of different roles in the attacking third under Keith Hill, including the flank.

The talented teenager is only in his first full season in senior football but he has apparently done enough to attract attention from Leicester City, who constantly seem to be on the lookout for bright emerging prospects in a bid to supplement their youth ranks with more quality.

Luca Connell, who also made his debut for Bolton in the Championship last season, was the subject of interest from several top English clubs in the summer before Celtic eventually won the race for the prodigy and Ronan Darcy could be the next in the queue from the Bolton academy to earn a move elsewhere.

To put things into perspective, Ronan Darcy is still very much in the developmental stage of his career but he looks like a real talent for the future and Leicester City snapping him up in January would definitely be a step in the right direction as far as their long-term plans are concerned.

The 18-year-old wouldn’t be expected to challenge for a first-team role immediately at the King Power stadium even if a move does materialize in the near future and in all probability, the Foxes would look to loan him out to a Football League club to allow him to further his development with regular minutes under his belt.

Alternatively, Leicester might also opt to keep him in their youth ranks and monitor his development closely, with a view to fast-tracking him into Brendan Rodgers’ first-team. Darcy would need to impress for the club’s U-23 development side in order to give himself a realistic chance of staking a claim for a senior call-up.

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The teenager is already playing at the senior level in League One but the process of transition from the youth ranks to the senior level is a lot more lengthy when it comes to the Premier League.

For the time being though, Leicester should continue to keep close tabs on his development before making an official approach and Darcy would be one to watch out for in the future if the Foxes do end up signing him.