Leicester City have for the second year running, made a move for Watford forward Troy Deeney. Watford rejected the £20m move for the 29-year-old but could be forced to reconsider if Leicester upped the ante with a £25m bid. The Englishman is a crowd favourite having served the side for 7 years running. He captained The Hornets to promotion in 2014-15. The club managed to avoid relegation last season by a whisker.
Under Walter Mazzarri, he struggled to find a regular place in the team, openly critical of the manager and the team’s style of play. With Silva as the manager now, he could find it easier to stamp his authority on the team with Deeney gone, removing the possibility of possible friction with the influential captain. And at 28 years, it could give Deeney the opportunity to feature in a side that is more ambitious than collecting 40 points and taking their feet off the gas.
Leicester are bracing for an imminent raid on Riyad Mahrez and are preparing for life after the 2016 PFA Player of the Year. The capture of Deeney could provide cover for the loss of Mahrez. Shakespeare is also hoping that the veteran’s presence in the dressing room would help avoid a repeat of last year’s shenanigans which ended with the sacking of Claudio Ranieri.
Having clocked 2942 minutes in the league, one of the highest for an outfield player in 2016-17, Deeney would like to return better figures compared to last year’s 10 goals and 4 assists. Leicester can move away from their tried and tested long ball tactic for Vardy to run on to, with the 29-year-old Englishman, perfectly complementing Vardy’s counter attacking threat.
Watford had rejected Leicester’s bid last season as the player publicly proclaimed his desire to stay at the club.
“This club really means business and I want to be part of this.
I’ve listened carefully to everything the club has had to say to me recently.
We’ve talked things through in a sensible way—and it’s helped me fully deal with lots of my own thoughts.
When you’re right in the middle of something, maybe you take it for granted how quickly things are moving forward. I don’t think I’ve done that, but by talking it over it’s clear that Watford isn’t ever going to settle for second-best – and that’s how I want to feel about my career so it works for me.”
Change of management at Vicarage Road and Leicester’s continued desire to make the player turn out for The Foxes could force serious consideration. Moving to the 2016 Premier League champions would be anything but a step down for the player. And Leicester could do with some tried and tested reinforcements after a rather underwhelming double buy of Ahmed Musa and Slimani.
