The latest Premier League player to submit a transfer request to his parent club is Leicester City’s, Leonardo Ulloa. As his first team chances have dried up at King Power Stadium with Claudio Ranieri opting to bring in more fresh legs up front, Ulloa is destined for a departure from the club and the Foxes have to look for a replacement fast.
Leicester have been hugely disappointing this season after their title-winning run last year. They haven’t been able to even challenge for the top half this time and their latest loss against Chelsea last week further dragged them down the Premier League table, towards the sombre and possible reality of relegation.
With Jamie Vardy starting alongside Slimani and Musa mostly, Ulloa doesn’t see himself in Ranieri’s plans now after making 11 appearances from the bench so far. Swansea, Hull City and at least two Spanish clubs have Ulloa as their transfer target and Leicester wants more than £10 million for their former record signing.
His departure will definitely leave a gap in the squad, be it on the bench, and Ranieri wouldn’t want to keep it that way after he suffered massively as he failed to replace N’Golo Kante last summer.
And according to The Telegraph, Leicester City are plotting a move for Middlesbrough attacker Gaston Ramirez. Unlike Ulloa’s place in Leicester’s squad, Ramirez is hugely important for Karanka’s team and the Foxes know very well that they won’t be able to land the Uruguayan international unless they trigger his release clause of £15 million.
Reportedly, Ranieri has already made an inquiry for Ramirez and is readying a bid for the forward. If the release clause gets triggered, Boro could do little to stop the 26-year-old from leaving although they could definitely use the money to finance other deals.
Ramirez has been nothing short of brilliant this season in a Middlesbrough team, who have pretty average attacking players in their squad. In his 17 appearances, he has scored two goals which include a majestic solo. He has created 23 chances and three assists so far, completing 332 passes with a pass accuracy of 76%, of which 75% have been forward passes.
Karanka has used his attacking midfielder both from the central role as well as from the wings. A left-footed attacking midfielder, Ramirez is a terrific passer of the ball, who could provide impeccable crosses from the flanks and incisive through balls through the middle.
Jamie Vardy hasn’t even been the shadow of his former self this season, which is primarily due to his lack of service. Getting Ramirez could give Ranieri back the magic he is missing this season. If he remains injury free, he could be a big player at Leicester.
