Leicester City have been pretty active in the transfer market this summer. It was expected as their new status as the Premier League champions required them to live up to the title by improving on their squad and looking to perform well again this season. They had a brilliant start as Jamie Vardy rejected Arsenal’s advances and instead chose to remain at Leicester. They followed on the impressive start by signing Nampalys Mendy from Nice for £13m and three other players before securing a club-record deal for front-man Ahmed Musa.
Things were looking rosy before it was announced Chelsea had signed N’Golo Kante on a 5-year deal delivering a hammer blow to the Foxes. This was followed by rumours that Riyad Mahrez was looking to join a European elite and had rejected a contract extension from the club. While Leicester are reeling from the potential double blow, reports have emerged which suggests West Bromwich Albion have put in a firm bid of £9m for the attack-minded left-back Jeffrey Schlupp.
West Brom have endured a frustrating summer themselves and are looking to get on with signing new players who would make their team more dynamic. Of late, there has been criticism of the Baggies being too listless and defensive. They have not shown any zeal going forward and have looked like a team without proper planning. Tony Pulis will be looking to change that, and having signed up Matt Phillips for £5.5m from QPR he is looking to reinforce his left-back conundrum. Schupp, at 23, is a relatively young player and West Brom had to choose between Leeds United’s Charlie Taylor and Schlupp and Tony Pulis decided to go after Schlupp for his Premier League experience.
The Leicester man is an extremely attack-minded player and he looks to bomb forward at every given opportunity. He is an excellent dribbler and is known for his powerful shots from distance. He also tracks back and covers his position well. He is a good tackler and also likes to play long balls. He was usurped by Christian Fuchs at the left-back slot last season and his appearances were mainly as a sub. His attacking nature made him an ideal candidate to be deployed on the left-hand side of midfield for the majority of his appearances. He put in a good shift towards the end of last season when Leicester were mainly looking at conserving their lead and shutting up shop at the back.
His forward forays culminated in two goals and two assists for the Englishman and the Baggies will be hoping he can contribute similar attacking displays from the left-back slot.
Schlupp impressed towards the end of Leicester’s historic title triumph but only signed a new contract in June last year. And with Leicester facing the possible sale of England under-21 international Ben Chilwell to Liverpool, the champions will loathe to lose another of their talented young players.
