Leicester City risking January transfer window regret as dangerous deadline approaches
Leicester City have signed one player in the January transfer window with Woyo Coulibaly arriving for £3million. With fewer than four days of the window left, City are on course to continue their relegation battle lacking in a number of positions.
Throughout the transfer window, Ruud van Nistelrooy has been bombarded with questions, every week, about how close the club are to bringing in new faces. The Dutchman has gone on record to say that the January transfer plans were key in his conversations with the club hierarchy prior to his appointment in November, yet there has been slow progress.
"We had a conversation about that [transfers] in London before I signed," Van Nistelrooy said in December. "We spoke about that, the winter window, and also towards the summer. We also said that there's no rush to do things."
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Fast forward nearly two months and the Leicester boss' stance hasn't changed. "We are still working on a couple of things, we know it's the deadline and what we're working towards," he said on Thursday. "It's something we're going to address until the last second of the window to see what we can do.
“It’s about knowing what you’re doing with the club and trying, within the possibilities, to do the maximum possible to get people in who can strengthen the team. It’s what we’re still trying to do and if we can get something, great, and if not, we will carry on with this group.
“It’s clear what I said from the beginning. In the conversations we had before I signed, it was very clear on what possibilities this window would be handled. We’re still in that process. We will go to the end to try. That won’t change.
"Everything is still on the table (permanent deals and loans). We have to keep all the options open with the idea to strengthen the squad.”
The win over Tottenham last weekend has papered over the cracks of what is a squad short of quality. Coulibaly's signing has improved the defence and James Justin's turnaround in form has come at the perfect time, but reinforcements remain a priority.
The midfield is well stacked and Wilfred Ndidi's return from injury will feel like a new signing. In the final third, there's a need for reinforcements with a new winger - as well as a centre-back - the priority. Abdul Fatawu's absence is telling with Jordan Ayew, Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Facundo Buonanotte failing to cement their spot on the right wing.
Van Nistelrooy seems to prefer Ayew due to his experience whereas fans adore Buonanotte. Neither are out-and-out wingers like Fatawu so interest in VfL Wolfsburg's Patrick Wimmer is no surprise.
Temporary moves outside the Premier League are more likely to be what happens at Seagrave with Odsonne Edouard set to stay at the club. In the past week, a host of players have been linked but nothing concrete. With time running out, what does the picture look like if Leicester fail to add?
The obvious problem is that van Nistelrooy will be frustrated. No manager will come out and slate the lack of the quality within their squad. Why would he? His job is to get the best out of them but it's been clear since he first laid eyes on the squad at Brentford that improvements were needed.
Blame will be laid on those in charge of transfers and rightly so. The speed of City's movement in transfer windows in the past has already been frustrating. Back in 2017, despite being interested in Islam Slimani all summer, his £30m move from Sporting CP wasn't confirmed until Deadline Day, robbing him of a full pre-season.
In 2018, Adrien Silva's famous move from Sporting missed the deadline by 14 seconds and the midfielder was forced to wait until January to make his debut. Noticeable mentions for Molla Wague, Ryan Bennett and Tete, three deals that are not popular ones at the King Power Stadium.
This time last year, Stefano Sensi was in Leicestershire on deadline day before his move from Inter Milan broke down. There was also the failed move for Jack Harrison.
The work needed to be done in the January transfer window has been blatant ever since Fatawu got injured, possibly before that. Yet, we're approaching February and Leicester are yet to resolve their problems.
Bilal El Khannouss' move from Genk has worked a treat and Mads Hermansen's arrival in 2023 could see the club raise significant funds in the future. They can get it right so they should get credit for the deals that worked.
Leicester's lack of business isn't down to a lack of trying. Frustrations on social media have been boiling ever since the New Year started with Ipswich moving to sign Ben Godfrey on loan and Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa. Not every piece of business is reported, take Coulibaly's move for example.
It should also be mentioned that Leicester's hierarchy can't win in this situation, and they could find themselves in a dangerous position of signing someone for the sake of it.
If they were to bite the bullet to bring in a 'panic' signing and it were not to work, they would face criticism. Edouard's deadline day arrival from Crystal Palace is the perfect example of that. Yet if they don't sign someone, they will still be criticised.
Of course, late deals are not always panic ones and they could bring someone in who could become a favourite. Youri Tielemans' loan in 2019 came on deadline day and Ademola Lookman was a late arrival in 2022 from RB Leipzig.
That being said, if Leicester end the window with just one signing, van Nistelrooy is set up to fail. It isn't far-fetched to say this Leicester team will struggle to stay up without any fresh blood and the task of staying in the Premier League will be made more difficult.
It may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Current players could step up and keep the club up, saving millions for the summer. However, that hasn’t been the case so far and time is running out to get van Nistelrooy the tools to succeed in the job.
