What happened to Leicester City’s nine summer transfer targets?
There were Leicester City transfer targets who went to Leeds, Genk, Midtjylland, and other clubs instead of joining Enzo Maresca’s squad at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester City signed nine players this summer, but not every player with whom they were associated ended up at the King Power Stadium. So we’ve chosen nine additional players that were said to be interested by City and will see where they end up this summer.
Prior to the arrival of Mads Hermansen, US international Zack Steffen appeared to be the goalkeeper City might sign, despite the club turning down an opportunity to buy him the previous summer.
That could be owing to knee surgery he had earlier this summer, which is expected to keep him out until at least October. That could be why he is still a Manchester City player for the time being.
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The Ilias Chair
Ilias Chair of QPR was one of the first players linked to City, with the Moroccan international appearing as a potential James Maddison replacement even before the sale to Tottenham and before Enzo Maresca was appointed manager.
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Those rumors died down until the final few days of the transfer window, when City were looking for a midfielder in case Wilfred Ndidi moved, but that didn’t happen, and Chair is still at QPR. He has started all five Championship games for them this season, but has yet to score or assist.
Harwood-Bellis, Taylor
Maresca stated that he wanted another center-back, and they would have definitely required one if Harry Souttar and Jannik Vestergaard both left, which was a possibility, but late attempts to bring in another young Manchester City player were thwarted when Southampton beat them to it.
On paper, it appears to be a very solid signing, with the 21-year-old assisting Burnley to promotion last season and then winning the Euros with England Under-21s in the summer. After going unnoticed in the Saints’ 5-0 thrashing at Southampton, he might make his debut against City on Friday.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi of Crystal Palace seemed ideal for what City sought in a right-sided winger, as he was speedy, adept in one-on-ones, and had the end product to go with it.
But he couldn’t go because Palace’s other offensive alternatives were injured, so the 20-year-old played in their first team. That’s how it turned out, with Rak-Sakyi continuing with the Eagles and hoping to develop on his two appearances.
Piroe, Joel
Given his solid scoring record for Swansea over the last two seasons, Dutch striker Joel Piroe is undoubtedly the most interesting player on this list. But it felt like City would have to trade Kelechi Iheanacho before making a move, so he ended up departing Wales for Leeds in a £10 million deal.
He significantly increases City’s promotion rival, and scored on his debut to assist Daniel Farke’s side overcome then-leaders Ipswich 4-3. In his first Championship season, he scored 22 goals, and in his second, he scored 19. Leeds will be hoping he can at least get close to those figures.
Zeqiri, Andi
Zeqiri, who was out of favor at Brighton, appeared to be a striker option for City. He had a good season on loan at Basel last season, was a good age, and was reasonably priced.
But rumors faded swiftly, and it wasn’t until after the end of the English transfer season that Zeqiri made his move, the Swiss international taking advantage of the extension in Belgium to join Genk for a paltry £2.4 million this week.
Cairney, Tom
Tom Cairney, another player discussed early in the summer, would have seemed like a wise signing considering his recent success in the Championship with Fulham.
And with the midfielder now 32 and his Cottagers game-time diminishing, a deal seemed feasible. However, he has remained in the city and has appeared in three of their four Premier League games thus far, starting and captaining the side in their opening-day victory against Everton.
Osorio, Dario
City have never signed a player directly from South America before, but there were strong rumors in Chile that teenage international winger Dario Osorio was on his way to the King Power Stadium.
While not with City, he did join Danish side FC Midtjylland and made his debut off the bench in a 1-1 draw at the weekend. Midtjylland is well-known for
McAtee, James
James McAtee was a name that arose only in the closing few days of the window, with City once again investigating options if Ndidi went. The young Manchester City midfielder, who played under Maresca a few years ago, seemed like a natural fit for the manager’s system’s number eight positions.
However, after assisting Sheffield United win promotion, the 20-year-old has returned to Bramall Lane on loan this season, where he will play alongside Luke Thomas.
Which of these nine players would you have preferred to see join City? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below.
