Leicester City have brought in Bayer Leverkusen defender, Aleksandar Dragovic on the transfer deadline day as Craig Shakespeare looks to solidify his defense ahead of a tough season in the Premier League. It’s been reported that the Foxes were rebuffed by Arsenal in an attempt to sign Calum Chambers and hence, the coach opted for Dragovic instead.
The acquisition of the Bundesliga defender makes sense in many aspects for the Foxes. Earlier this summer, Leicester City also brought in centre back, Harry Maguire from Hull City. With their two, ageing defensive mainstay in the shape of Robert Huth and Wes Morgan, the two new defensive signings were very important for the former Premier League champions.
Aleksandar Dragovic is an exciting yet a very desperate signing for the Foxes. Firstly, the Austrian International has seen a significant deterioration ever since his move away from FC Basel. Dragovic started his career at Austria Vienna, where his impressive performances earned him a move to Swiss giants FC Basel. At Basel, he was regarded as one of the brightest young defensive talents in the Swiss league.
Despite interests from several top clubs, Dragovic made a move to Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev, after spending two seasons in Switzerland. At Kiev, his form started to deteriorate, and in fact, his move to Bayer Leverkusen can be deemed as a desperate measure from the Bundesliga club, in order to sign a centre back. He made his move to Bundesliga last summer, but the Austrian could never really make an impact at his new club.
Falling behind the pecking order, and constantly being outperformed by the likes of Omer Toprak, Jonathan Tah or even Tin Jedvaj, it didn’t bode well for Dragovic. There came a time when nobody really liked the 26-year-old centre back. His performance in the Euros didn’t help his cause either, with some shambolic performances, ultimately leading his nation to an early exit from the highly coveted tournament.
However, that being said, Dragovic is well known for his experience and could actually turn into quite a decent signing for the Foxes. Playing in four different leagues, the Austrian has come to know football in Europe better than most of the defenders. He has also won 10 major trophies throughout his career, therefore, he is fairly used to witnessing success.
It will be exciting to see how he plays alongside Harry Maguire at the King Power Stadium. He is not the kind of defender, who relies on his aggressive mentality to drive fear into opponents. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Dragovic has a cool defensive head, which is by far his most impressive point as a defender. He can stay calm and tends to check his surroundings, before committing himself to a defensive action. He relies on his actual reading of the game, to make an interception or making a well-timed tackle to stop the opposition in their tracks.
It’s also worth pointing out that Dragovic is also very good on the ball. He can act as the ball playing centre back, quite effectively, thanks to his passing skills and composure on the ball, although one might argue that he tends to keep the ball at his feet for too long at times.
All things considered, Aleksandar Dragovic has the potential to evolve as a top class Premier League defender. What he lacks in physicality or aerial dominance, though, he makes up for it with his ability to understand the game.
The Austrian is currently on loan at the King Power Stadium but if he does manage to succeed in the Premier League this season, the Foxes won’t be hesitating in signing him on a permanent basis.
