Leicester City are reportedly facing stiff competition from Premier League sides like West Ham United, Everton and newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, in their pursuit of long-term target Jonathan Cafu.
The Brazilian winger has earned some rave reviews from the Bulgarian domestic league this campaign, with his club Ludogorets Razgrad doing well in the league and pulling off some encouraging, although futile, displays in the Champions League. The Bulgarian club is well aware of the huge demand Cafu has drawn and has labelled his release clause at £10.2m.
Leicester City will be more than willing to pay that amount as they prepare for a comeback next season. The Foxes have been completely played down this term in the Premier League owing to their nightmarish first half, which saw most of their previous stars failing to retain their form. And the most eye-catching of them has been their African Footballer of the Year, Riyad Mahrez.
The Algerian winger was in scintillating form last season with most defenders finding it impossible to stop him on that right flank. A successful season led the Foxes to believe that they could rely on him this season too, and it backfired terribly. The previous manager, Claudio Ranieri, simply had no backup for the player in that position and although Marc Albrighton and Demarai Gray, both left-wings, have been deployed from time to time in that role, they were hugely ineffective.
Mahrez could score only five goals and four assists this season in the league and with no plan B, Leicester have struggled. A move for Cafu looks quite prudent, given the forward’s offensive attributes and low price in the market. The 25-year-old has scored 14 goals this season and assisted nine times in 38 games so far, attracting interest from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
Cafu is a youth product of Brazilian side Desportivo Brasil. He left the club quite young and made his way up through the ranks of several lesser known sides like Boavista Sport Club (RJ), Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (SP), Capivariano Futebol Clube (SP) and Associação Atlética Ponte Preta, following which the legendary side, Sau Paulo, picked him up in 2015.
It took just six months for Ludogorets to recognise his talent and they bought him for a petty £1.9m and will be aiming big profits from his sale. Leicester City have the finances but it is to be seen whether they are prepared to take the leap of faith with the in-demand Brazilian.
