Leicester City Summer Shopping 2022: Right Wingers

Today, we kick off our summer shopping series in the most obvious of ways. We have yet to find a suitable replacement for Mahrez in spite of having brought in a host of talented players in the persons of Cengiz Ünder, Rachid Ghezzal, and Ademola Lookman. The first two didn’t measure up to the club’s expectations and Lookman only impressed when he was moved to his natural position (anywhere but right wing).

Some of the names on today’s list will look familiar to the two of three of you who remember last summer’s shopping articles. No wonder: We were linked to some impressive names and one suspects that, had we signed them, we wouldn’t be doing this again this year.

The player ratings are the rating from WhoScored.com. This time around, I’m using their rating when the player starts at their primary position. The prices come from Transfermarkt.com. The relationship between the site’s prices and the actual prices isn’t the strongest, but we have to start somewhere.

Players Linked to Leicester City

Noni Madueke
Age: 22
Foot: Left
Club: PSV Eindhoven
WhoScored Rating: 7.31
Transfermarkt Price: $19.8m

Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images

Madueke seems like the obvious first choice here: He’s a left-footed right winger who makes good runs, is a nightmare to dispossess, and, at 22, he’s only going to get better. The end product wasn’t there for the English midfielder as he tallied only 3 goals and 3 assists, but if you see him play, you get the sense that it’s just a matter of time. If the price isn’t too high and if he wants to come to Leicester City, this is a deal that should happen.

Domenico Berardi
Age: 27
Foot: Left
Club: Sassuolo
WhoScored Rating: 7.25
Transfermarkt Price: $38.5m

Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

We were strongly linked to Berardi last year and, if we couldn’t get the deal done then, it seems unlikely it’ll happen this year but there are still sources claiming we’re interested. As per WhoScored, Berardi was the best player in Italy last year, scoring 15 goals and assisting 14 more. He is very likely out of our price range, but if we could get him, it would be a game-changer for the Foxes.

Adnan Januzaj
Age: 27
Foot: Left
Club: Real Sociedad
WhoScored Rating: 6.75
Transfermarkt Price: $13.2m

Photo by Ion Alcoba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

A player who has disappointed every time he’s set foot on English soil, Januzaj still has so much in his kit that there’s no wonder he’s linked with the Foxes. His rating is unimpressive, but it’s misleading: He started one more match on the left than on the right and he was far more effective on the right. He doesn’t have the pace of some of the other players on this list, but he’s tricky on the ball and brilliant at crossing from wide areas.

Others of Interest:

Iuri Medeiros
Age: 27
Foot: Left
Club: Braga
WhoScored Rating: 7.17
Transfermarkt Price: $5.5m

Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images

Iuri Jóse Picanço Medeiros isn’t exactly a household name outside of northern Portugal, but the gentleman can play. He put up 7 goals and 6 assists in only 18 starts for Braga, but he has the most impressive “strengths” list I’ve ever seen on WhoScored: Crossing, Key Passes, Taking Set-pieces, Long shots, Direct free-kicks, Dribbling, Finishing, Holding on to the ball, and Passing are all listed as “strong” or “very strong” with no significant weaknesses. At 27, there’s probably no growth left and you’d prefer to see a strong track record in a bigger league, but still...I’d give him a long look if I were City.

Romain Faivre
Age: 23
Foot: Left
Club: Lyon
WhoScored Rating: 7.22
Transfermarkt Price: $16.5m

Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The former Newcastle man spent most of the season on loan at Brest, but he retained his form when he returned to his parent club. Like most of the gents on this list, his signature move is cutting inside and trying to curl a long shot into the corner. That’s fine; that’s what I want my inverted right winger to be doing. He scored 10 times and registered 5 assists in only 29 starts, so he’s got both the skill and the numbers to suggest he’s ready for a bigger challenge.

Marcus Edwards
Age: 23
Foot: Left
Club: Sporting CP
WhoScored Rating: 7.23
Transfermarkt Price: $14.3m

Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Edwards is essentially a B-grade Madueke: He’s English, he’s terrifying on the ball, the rest of his game needs some work, but he’s young enough to get better. The 5’5” winger scored 10 goals and got 4 assists in 19 starts in Liga NOS last season, showing flashes of world-class ability. He doesn’t track back well and, as you may have surmised, he’s not an aerial threat, but there are the makings of a really useful player there.

That’s my take on who would fit the bill on the right next year. Who would you go after if you were in the City front office?