According to latest reports, Leicester City has agreed on a fee of £22m for acquiring the services of Porto right-back Ricardo Pereira. The Portuguese defender has recently been named in the 23 man squad for the 2018 World cup in Russia and this can turn out to be a smart piece of business by the Foxes.
The defender has been a usual feature down the right for Porto as they ran away with another domestic title this season. The 24-year-old has played a crucial part in that title-winning side and has racked up 43 appearances in all competitions. He has provided an impressive tally of seven assists and two goals which shows his attacking talent down the right.
The defender can double up as a right midfielder and Claude Puel will be delighted to have a man like him in his ranks. Puel has previously managed him when both of them were at Nice. However, there is pressure on the French tactician as Leicester’s season ended on a bad note as they won just one of their last seven games. Nevertheless they ended up finishing in the top half of the table and they will be looking for improvements in the next season.
Danny Simpson is the only recognised right back option which Puel has at his disposal and the 31-year-old is not going to get any younger. He will be out of contract next year and it will interesting to see whether the Foxes keep him at the club further.
One expected more out of this Leicester side this term as they huffed and puffed to ninth place finish and the fans will be hoping that their team fights for a Europa League spot next term. For that to happen, they will require reinforcements in the summers, especially on the defensive front as they were found wanting at the back quite a few times this season.
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Perreira is certainly not going to come in cheap so the pressure will be on him to deliver the goods when he joins his team at King Power Stadium. However, he hs all the abilities which a modern full-back needs as he is adept at attacking and defending. He can be deployed in the left back role as well and that makes him a good signing for the Foxes at least on paper.
