Leicester City have had the worse start anyone could imagine after their miraculous season last year and although the team as a whole haven’t been close to what they were last season, it is their defence that has depreciated the most.
The Foxes have conceded 29 goals in 23 games so far and with the duo of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth visibly not clicking this time, Claudio Ranieri will definitely have to bring in fresh feet coming winter. And as per Italian website Tuttomercatoweb, Leicester City are preparing an offer to sign Sassuolo centre-back Francesco Acerbi.
As per the news agency, Ranieri is quite serious about bringing the player in and the club is readying an amount of £6.75m to sign the player.
The 28-year-old Italian had joined Sassuolo in 2013 and earned a place on the first team during the course of time. He has been particularly impressive this year scoring two times in 17 appearances for the club, who now sits 16th in Serie A table.
Acerbi has previously come up through the ranks of Pavia, Reggina, Genoa, Chievo Verona, Genoa, a loan spell at AC Milan and then Sassuolo. A defender of such a vast experience could be an impactful addition to the Foxes squad.
He has drawn a lot of attention for his good game reading abilities and timely ball interceptions. He is a no nonsense defender and likes to clear the ball from tight situations. And in a team like Leicester, who likes to play long balls feeding their strikers on the counter, he could be a perfect addition.
Acerbi would provide further strength in depth and manager Claudio Ranieri has an in-depth knowledge of Italian football. He can play both as a centre-back and as a left back. Leicester brought in Yohan Benalouane last summer, but the 29-year-old hasn’t played in top flight English football so far. Ranieri has only used him for the reserves and EFL trophy so far.
The Foxes currently stands at the 15th position in the league table and have gathered 17 points from 17 games. They have lost eight games already and the best Ranieri could do now is salvage a top half position. The Foxes, on the contrary, had an almost perfect start to their Champions League campaign where they won five of their six games in the group stages before losing to FC Porto at their backyard.
As they progress to the knockout stages, where they will host Sevilla, who have been seasoned in European competition, they look like they could really use Acerbi’s experience.
