Leicester City’s £1.5m bid for Marseille winger, Bouna Sarr has been rejected by the French outfit and Claude Puel might have to scour the transfer market for a replacement. The Leicester squad is currently overstacked with strikers and a defensive addition is necessary to savour a top half Premier League finish.
Sarr has been converted from a winger to a right back by Rudi Garcia who has held him to high praise when asked about the transfer move. He was quoted, “Sarr has produced very good performances but he must not relax. He is 100 percent Marseille and if he is to succeed, it will be in that position. He has a very good career as a right-back in front of him.”
So this definitely begs the question, does Leicester want a winger or a right back? With Danny Simpson currently facing an unfortunate spell on the sidelines, a defensive addition is more likely.
Daniel Amartey who is more of a defensive midfielder by trade has struggled to find his feet at the right-back role and Puel should consider the following players before the end of January.
Mathieu Debuchy
The 32-year-old has featured in only 8 games this season and in total just 30 for Arsenal ever since his arrival in the summer of 2014. Debuchy last appeared for the North London side in the 4-2 loss to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup.
Debuchy’s career under Arsene Wenger mostly turned sour due to injury concerns which prevented him from getting a favourable run of games. Ligue 1 side, AS Saint-Étienne, has already contacted the Gunners over a possible transfer move, but Puel can make a favourable case to the veteran.
Matteo Darmian
A Manchester United flop but still a very highly rated Italian who has been capped at national level 36 times. He arrived at Old Trafford under Louis Van Gaal and has fallen below the pecking order under Jose Mourinho behind the likes of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young who features as a makeshift left-back.
Napoli have emerged as likely candidates to give the 28-year-old an escape from his current conundrum. Darmian is an experienced and very versatile presence who can appear on either of the wing back positions.
Adam Smith
The Bournemouth right-back is one of the players on Puel’s list who is being considered for a move in the coming weeks. The 26-year-old is one of the key figures in the Cherries squad and will be priced very highly by Eddie Howe.
