Summer Shopping: Leicester City Transfer Rumour Update

It’s still all quiet on Filbert Way as the Foxes yet to conclude any major business during this transfer window. Brendan Rodgers’ desired refresh of the squad is still very much in the “hypothetical” bucket at this time. Even the rumour mill has been relatively quiet, but “relatively quiet” isn’t “completely quiet.” With rumours regarding one very impressive player starting to bubble up, this seems like a good time to take a look at the state of play.

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Outgoing:

Youri Tielemans

[Photo by Stephen White - CameraSport via Getty Images

We still expect Tielemans to leave this summer, but there’s no indication that the move will happen quickly. Arsenal are still the favourites to sign him, but their coy “Will they/won’t they” attitude is getting old. West Ham have jumped into the picture, but unless Youri really misses the Europa Conference League, their interest seems unlikely to produce any results.

He’s going to go. It’s probably going to be to Arsenal. We’ll almost certainly still be talking about this in late August.

Dennis Praet

He wants out. The club want to sell him. Fiorentina want him. This will happen, although it could be a loan with an obligation to buy. Honestly, I’d love to keep him but that bridge appears to be burned.

Boubakary Soumare

This is a strange one. Soumare just arrived last year and seems to be on his way out the door. Prior to coming to the King Power, Soumare looked like a slight upgrade on Mendy but he failed to clear that hurdle in Rodgers’ eyes. Monaco seems to be the likely destination.

Çağlar Söyüncü

I hate that he’s leaving, but leaving he most certainly is. He wasn’t good enough to start for one of the Premier League’s shakiest defences, so he’ll be moving to Milan and playing in the Champions League next season. Funny old world, innit?

Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images

Hamza Choudhury

Hamza’s going to be starting for someone in the Championship next term. Here’s hoping opposing teams have strong knees and good physios.

I’m gonna miss Hamza.

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Incoming:

Benjamin Bourigeaud

Rumours linking us to Bourigeaud have been too incessant to ignore, so let’s take a closer look at the Rennes winger. In spite of our obvious need for a right-sided attacker, Bourigeaud doesn’t tick the usual boxes for a Leicester target. He’s 28 years old, so he’s in his prime right now. He’s also right-footed, meaning that he’s probably more suited to playing crosses from the flank than cutting inside to shoot.

The good news is that he’s an absolutely terrific player. He banged in 11 goals and added 12 assists last year. He does just about everything you’d want a player to do with the ball at his feet in open play and on set-pieces, and he can play anywhere in the midfield without missing a beat.

If the links to Bourigeaud are accurate (and rumours are always accurate), this tells us a lot about City’s ambitions. Bourigeaud is not “one for the future” like most of our transfers. He’s at his peak already, making it unlikely we’d be able to move him for a profit in the future. This signals intent to get back to Europe...scratch that...back to the Champions League in the next year or two.

Flynn Downes

Leicester are reported to be interested in the Swansea defensive midfielder. In theory, the 23-year-old would serve as a replacement for Soumare should he move on. He’s an exceedingly tidy player who fits Swansea’s style of short, quick passes and he’s a decent ball-winner as well. He’d be an interesting addition if he has more range to his passing than he’s been asked to show in the Championship.

Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images

Assuming that Tielemans, Soumare, and Praet depart, that would leave the Foxes with Madders, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, and Mendy in central midfield. Would Flynn represent depth, or would he be slotted in as an 8 to replace Tielemans? This is another odd player for us to be linked to. I don’t see anything about him that says “ready to jump to the next level,” but I’d love to wrong about that.

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The Bourigeaud rumours have picked up steam shockingly quickly, so here’s hoping we have something to report, something involving a player standing in front of a stadium wearing a Leicester shirt and, for some reason, holding another Leicester shirt at the same time.

Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images