Since the start of the summer, Sven Goran Eriksson has brought in a complete new team to try and ensure promotion to the Premier League this season is achieved. Although, with all the new signings arriving, only one of them is a striker, David Nugent who arrived on a free from Portsmouth. Over the past week there have been many rumours to which striker Sven will bring in either permanently or on a loan for the season. Which ever striker he chooses, needs to be capable of scoring more than 20 goals a season.
Currently Leicester have a selection of strikers, but lack a natural finisher who will guarantee them goals on a regular basis. Along with David Nugent, Sven can choose between either Martyn Waghorn, who has struggled ever since Nigel Pearson moved to Hull City and Steve Howard who is in his final few years before retiring. Players such as Paul Gallagher and Darius Vassell are chosen to play on the wings and not down the middle. This means a striker needs to be brought in as soon as possible to ensure the foxes can get a positive start to the season and allow time for the players to get familiar with one another.
Ever since the press and other football pundits discovered how much money Leicester have at their disposal, multiple players have been linked with the club, the majority of which are untrue. A player who was involved in speculation with a move to the King Power Stadium, is Reading’s goal machine, Shane Long. This is a player who consistently scores goals at this level and is tipped to play in the Premier League one day.Leicester are reportedly interested in the striker, with Sven Goran Eriksson stating he is one of the players on the list. The papers have suggested the club had offered around £7 million for the young Irishman, although on Tuesday West Brom secured a deal for the striker.
Other strikers who have been targeted by the experienced Swede are, Nicky Maynard who is currently with Bristol City and like Long is tipped to play at the highest level. Current Premier League players such as Yakubu, who sent half a season with the foxes earlier this year, and Norwich city’s Grant Holt have also been rumoured to have been approached. Although one player who has yet to be mentioned by the press or the club, but by several Leicester supporters, is West Brom’s Simon Cox, who was linked with a move to the club two years ago. He has struggled to break into the Baggies starting XI and has previously shown he is more than capable of scoring goals at this level.
With only a few weeks left of the transfer window, Sven is running out of time to find a quality striker to help strengthen the attack of Leicester. Although after Tuesdays Carling Cup game at Rotherham, Sven might be inclined to give youth a chance, with academy player Jeffery Schlupp scoring a hat trick on his debut. Whatever Sven decides, hopefully he doesn’t pay over the odds on a player just because he can, and carefully considers which striker will add value to the team. This question will be answered in the coming weeks and could help define the season for the foxes.
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