Steve Cooper will still be looking to add firepower to his Leicester City ranks this summer transfer window, safe in the knowledge that Jamie Vardy shouldn’t be the main option up top venturing back up to the Premier League, at the grand age of 37.
Yet, Vardy didn’t show any visible cobwebs in the Championship last season on the way to the Foxes lifting the second tier title aloft – bagging 18 times from the 35 league contests he was present for – but he did only muster up a meagre three strikes during Leicester’s relegation campaign.
With Kelechi Iheanacho also no longer around at the King Power Stadium, on top of rumours that Thomas Cannon will allowed to leave on loan, it’s no shock to see the likes of Jordan Ayew linked with a major switch to the East Midlands to bolster in this sparse spot.
Great goal, iconic celebration 🤩#BIRLEI pic.twitter.com/Of15w7zQCR
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 18, 2023
Yet, Leicester could still be a terrifying prospect in attack when moving up a division, even without a focal point present as the lone centre forward, courtesy of Stephy Mavididi’s trickery from down the flanks.
Stephy Mavididi’s time at Leicester
Once a bright prospect making his way up the ranks at Arsenal, Mavididi now finds himself on the roster at the King Power, having played across Europe in Italy and France before making the switch back to England in 2023.
The ex-Juventus winger’s switch to Leicester has proved to be an ingenious one from the powers that be at the newly promoted club, with his 12 strikes in league action last campaign helping his side comfortably end the season as champions of the second tier.
He would also end up being a creative force for Enzo Maresca’s men with six assists registered alongside 11 big chances being created for the likes of Vardy to fire home.
The slick 26-year-old, who was once labelled as a “nightmare to mark” by one of his former Arsenal youth coaches, Steve Leonard, will be itching to go ahead of next season, therefore, hoping he can bamboozle Premier League defenders on the way to his side thriving in the elite division, instead of suffering an instant return back down a league.
Paying a reported £6.4m to land Mavididi’s services before a ball was kicked last season has more than paid off, therefore, with the Foxes attacker’s value only going up and up since joining, based off his exploits in the Championship, according to Football Transfers.
He’s worth even more than Ayew, according to the site, with Mavididi also offering somewhat of a solution to Leicester’s striker problem if needs be, having played as a centre-forward previously during his career.
Mavididi’s value in 2024
As per Football Transfers, the exciting Leicester number ten’s value currently stands at a bumped up £12.8m, compared to the Palace attacker’s lesser price tag of £8m.
Leicester could be better off, arguably, exploring the potential of unleashing Mavididi as a striker option from time to time this upcoming season, especially when you consider his promising numbers from this position next to Ayew’s.
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