Leicester City Summer Shopping - Left Backs

Hello, and welcome to our annual Leicester City Summer Shopping series, where we take a look at positions where the Foxes might be considering buying. Then, we find a group of players who have almost no chance of coming to City and explain why they would be great buys!

This year, we’re adding a wrinkle: We’re going to look at players who have legitimately been linked with moves to the East Midlands. We’ll also look at how the players fared statistically on WhoScored.com and what Transfermarkt.com believes their current value to be. We have generally avoided players who were promoted this year or have Champions League football guaranteed next year. I say “generally” because two of the most strongly linked players are with league champions.

While the Foxes are currently in possession of a truly dizzying array of options at right back with Timothy Castagne, Ricardo Pereira, and James Justin, only Luke Thomas is a natural, left-footed left back. All three right backs played on the left with varying degrees of comfort and success, but the club could really use to add a more-experienced left-footed player this summer.

Who We’re Linked With

Ryan Bertrand
Club: Southampton
Age: 31
Foot: Left
Rating: 6.41
Value: €10,000,000

Ryan Bertrand is an experienced, left-footed player.

Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images

Other Options

Javi Galan
Club: SD Huesca
Age: 26
Foot: Left
Rating: 7.16
Value: €6,000,000

Galan had another good season but it didn’t attract much attention due to his playing for relegated Huesca. He’s got a little Ben Chilwell in him in that he’s a willing runner, a good crosser, and a strong defender. He will lose it cheaply on occasion. Still, he’s excellent at both ends of the pitch and fits Rodgers idea of a fullback/wingback very well.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Robert Skov
Club: Hoffenheim
Age: 25
Foot: Left
Rating: 6.44
Value: €10,000,000

I will die on the Robert Skov hill: He’s a left back who can also play as an inverted right-sided attacker. Don’t let his low rating fool you: He was excellent when starting, but he was frequently deployed as a substitute and that will destroy your rating on WhoScored. Kasper Schmeichel’s international teammate would be an excellent fit for the Foxes.

Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

Alejandro Grimaldo
Club: Benfica
Age: 25
Foot: Left
Rating: 7.18
Value: €22,000,000

Grimaldo is probably out of our price range, but he would be an exceptional buy for City. He provided 9 assists from the left back position last year and he’s an outstanding defender. He’s flown under the radar since joining Benfica in 2015 and has yet to feature for Spain’s senior side, so an optimist might see a potential bargain here. I am not an optimist, alas: He’s too good for that.

Photo by Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty Images