Leicester City’s unpredictable and disappointing run in the Premier League continued as they saw yet another poor defensive display leading them to a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of league leaders Chelsea, last weekend.
The Foxes have conceded 34 goals in the league already this season, which is two goals lesser than what they had conceded in the whole of last season. Claudio Ranieri’s men now dwell in the 15th position of the league table and not too far from the relegation zone.
The unanimous claim that last season was a freak has grown in the recent months and the biggest reason for that has been their defence. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan were almost invincible last season and everything worked to their favour. Their long balls from the deep were rightly met by Jamie Vardy and when all else failed, the centre-halves stood tall from set-pieces to slot the ball home.
We can’t see any such tendencies this season, and while Ranieri has been busy beefing up his attack and the midfield, he has left his backline at the hands of his two old generals. Other teams have clearly understood their game this season and a reshuffling at the back is immediately needed if Ranieri wants to see a different result.
And they have identified Serie A side Fiorentina’s centre-half Gonzalo Rodriguez as their next top target, according to Calciomercato.
The 32-year-old is a no-nonsense defender in the Italian league and is known for his immaculate passing and disciplined defending. At 183 cm, the Argentine defender is the right frame to eliminate aerial threats mainly from set pieces. In his 14 appearances for Fiorentina so far, this season, has won 16 tackles with a success rate of 44%. He has made 25 interceptions, 73 clearances and 12 blocks.
An academy product of Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro U20, Rodriguez has played in clubs like San Lorenzo and Villarreal before making a move to Fiorentina in 2012. He has been a regular figure for them in the Europa League and therefore could be a huge asset for the Foxes in the European campaign.
With his passing accuracy of 90.6%, Leicester might just get back their lightning fast counter that killed giants last season and which is essentially lacking this season. With almost all reverse fixtures left to be played and the Foxes resuming their Champions League campaign next month, getting him will be a huge boost.
