Leicester City Summer Shopping - Forwards

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.

Last year, the question was “Can Kelechi Iheanacho be the backup for Vardy we need?” Necessity being the mother of changing tactics, we discovered that Seniorman and Vardy made spectacular partners. So now, with both of them starting, we again turn our sights on the forward position, this time looking for someone to back them both up.

Who We’re Linked With

Odsonne Edouard
Club: Celtic
Age: 23
Foot: Right
Rating: 7.31
Value: €15,000,000

In all honesty, the list probably could (and should) start and end here. Leicester aren’t merely “linked” with Edouard, we’re reported to have won the race. We could do a lot worse: 53 goals in 87 matches for Celtic is nothing to sniff at all. Not to mention, he’s netted 17 teams in 14 matches for the France U-21s. He’s a powerful striker with a decent touch and nothing left to prove north of the border.

Edouard’s famous “VJ” goal celebration is a tribute to his boyhood here, tennis great Vijay Singh...probably.

Other Options

Ivan Toney
Club: Brentford
Age: 25
Foot: Right
Rating: 7.40
Value: €18,000,000

Toney was the Harry Kane of the Championship last year, scoring 32 times and providing 10 assists. He’s a staggeringly complete offensive player who is utterly ruthless in front of goal. Strong in the air, strong with the ball at his feet, brilliant passing, and difficult to dispossess: He ticks all the boxes. Brentford were promoted and keen to keep him, but Norwich City just sold Emiliano Buendia, so stranger things have happened.

Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images

Adam Armstrong
Club: Blackburn Rovers
Age: 24
Foot: Right
Rating: 7.15
Value: €16,000,000

In terms of attitude, Armstrong reminds me more of Vardy than any other striker I’ve seen. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and he has a flair for the audacious. He’s not nearly as complete as Toney, but he’s going to be a bargain for whoever takes a chance on him.

Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images

Kieffer Moore
Club: Cardiff City
Age: 28
Foot: Right
Rating: 7.56
Value: €5,000,000

This one’s a real long-shot: Moore is a striker in the sense that Peter Crouch was. He’s quite tall and impossible to defend on his day. He finally put it together last year and found the back of the net 20 times for Cardiff. If the Foxes are looking for a player to provide a different look in attack, he’s the one to get.

Photo by Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images

Giorgos Giakoumakis
Club: VVV-Venlo
Age: 26
Foot: Right
Rating: 7.30
Value: €2,500,000

Giakoumakis scored 26 times for relegated Venlo last season and it’s baffling that he isn’t being linked to every club that is trying to move up the table in their respective league. He’s a poacher’s poacher, but he’s almost certainly not coming to Leicester. Good thing too, as I struggle with spelling names under the best of circumstances.

hoto by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images