Leicester City: Foxes made error with failed Weston McKennie swoop | OneFootball

For the past four months, Leicester City have clearly been on the lookout for a midfielder.

Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers expressed his intentions to bring in a midfield player in the January transfer window but a move did not materialise, whilst the East Midlanders have recently been linked with the likes of Yves Bissouma, Tomasso Pobega and Boubakary Soumare ahead of potential summer transfers.

However, it might have all been so different had Leicester secured the signature of Weston McKennie under a year ago.

It was reported during the summer 2020 transfer window that the Foxes were interested in the services of the American and were vying with Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers for his signature. Again, a switch did not come to fruition, the then-Schalke 04 man surprisingly signing for Juventus instead.

He has gone on to have an overwhelmingly positive impact in Turin since his arrival. At the time of writing McKennie, rated at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, has made 37 appearances in all competitions for Juve, scoring six goals and providing two assists.

For comparison, only James Maddison and Youri Tielemans of Leicester’s current crop of central midfielders can boast more than the former FC Dallas star’s eight goal contributions this season.

McKennie’s form has certainly not gone unnoticed by those in Italy, either. Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo has gone as far as to say that the American is a “rock” in the Italian giants’ midfield – a huge compliment considering that he has had to vie with the likes of Arthur Melo, Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot, Rodrigo Bentancur and others for a starting berth.

Considering his excellent displays, Leicester will reflect on a huge mistake in not bringing McKennie to the King Power Stadium last year, a clanger which has only been exacerbated by Rodgers’ reported recent hunt for a midfielder.

AND in more news, take a look at which new deal could be a future clue for Leicester…