After the last injury report, Leicester have even more cause to be delighted with the resolution of the Bournemouth and Wolves transfer sagas.
PUBLISHED 45 MINUTES AGO BY TOBY WILDING
Summer commitment Tom Caonnn appears to be on the sidelines for Leicester.
Despite interest from other teams, Leicester City were able to keep its center forward tandem, Daka and Iheanacho, which will aid their promotion hopes.
Bournemouth were unable to complete a deadline-day transfer for Daka, while Wolves were unable to complete a move for Iheanacho owing to Leicester’s £20 million asking price.
Because of the injury to new recruit Tom Cannon, Leicester’s choice to maintain Daka and Iheanacho is even more critical for their offensive options.
Given Leicester City’s relegation from the Premier League to the Championship at the end of last season, there was something of an exodus from the club during the summer transfer window.
In total, 13 first-team players would leave The King Power Stadium before the market closed at the beginning of this month.
Meanwhile, 10 players were signed to bolster the alternatives available to new manager Enzo Maresca in his first-team squad, as the Foxes’ lineup was significantly overhauled.
However, some players from previous season have returned to the club, notably centre forwards Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho.
However, in the instance of those two attackers, this was despite the fact that other teams were interested in their services.
Which clubs made late-season acquisitions of Daka and Iheanacho?
Both Daka and Iheanacho appear to have been in demand until the closing hours of this summer’s transfer window.
Bournemouth failed to complete a deadline day deal for Daka, according to sources from the last day of the market, after seeming poised to sign the Zambia international on loan with an option to purchase at one time.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Wolves were interested in signing Iheanacho in the closing days of the transfer season, only to back out owing to Leicester’s £20 million asking price for the 26-year-old.
Given their top-flight pedigree and goalscoring potential, the Foxes will have been reasonably pleased to keep both of those players around, to ensure their firepower can help them secure a quick return to the top-flight of English football this season.
However, it appears that additional injury news from Leicester this week means that keeping Daka and Iheanacho may now be even more essential to their promotion pursuit.
Injury to Tom Cannon
While Leicester may have maintained both Daka and Iheanacho this summer despite those bids, with Jamie Vardy also remaining at the club, the club did add to their center striker options throughout the summer.
That came with the arrival of Tom Cannon on a permanent basis from Everton for a reported £7.5 million cost, signing a five-year contract at The King Power Stadium in what appeared to be an eye-catching piece of business.
Cannon had an outstanding loan season in the Championship with Preston North End last season, scoring eight goals and giving one assist in 20 league appearances.
As a result, the 20-year-old may have been a viable choice to fill the vacuum left by Daka and Iheanacho had they departed Leicester.
However, earlier this week, Maresca disclosed that Cannon is out with “some problems” and that he is unclear when the forward would return, implying that he might be out for a long time.
As a result, if Leicester had allowed both Daka and Iheanacho to depart before the transfer window ended, Cannon’s injury means that the Foxes might have relied solely on Vardy between now and the January transfer window.
While there is no questioning Vardy’s talent, for him to fulfil such a role on a weekly basis would have been a tall order given that he is now 36 years old and has averaged just 33 minutes per Championship game this season.
As it stands, the retention of Daka and Iheanacho alongside Vardy means that Maresca can now be sure that he has enough firepower to keep Leicester competitive at center forward while Cannon recovers.
With all of this in mind, it appears like Cannon’s injury setback means that Leicester’s retention of Daka and Iheanacho during the summer may be poised to pay off even more than it would have otherwise.
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