Leicester City are keen to make Callum Doyle’s transfer permanent after the young defender has impressed at the King Power Stadium since joining on loan during the summer, according to reports.
Doyle joined the Foxes on a season-long loan back in August, having had previous spells with Sunderland in League One and Coventry City last term in the Championship where he became a mainstay in both starting lineups as a centre-back.
The Manchester City academy product was a regular in Enzo Maresca’s first eleven this season, primarily as a left-back who tucks inside and becomes part of a three-man defensive line when Ricardo Pereira inverts into the midfield.
However, a knee injury sustained at the end of September kept him out of action for the remainder of the year. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old has recently returned to action with Leicester City and made his first start for the club in a 3-2 win away at Millwall in the FA Cup almost two weeks ago.
Regardless, a new report from The Athletic has revealed that Leicester are hoping to make Doyle’s stay at the King Power Stadium a permanent one at the end of the season.
During the summer, the outlet also claimed that the Foxes wanted to sign Doyle with an obligation-to-buy clause inserted into his contract and that Manchester City had valued the player at £10 million, but a straight loan deal was a much quicker process.
Doyle currently has a market value of £12.7 million, according to Transfermarkt, which is slightly higher than Man City’s asking price from before the 2023/24 campaign commenced.
Writer’s View
Doyle has been excellent at every club he’s been at. With Sunderland, he played a massive part in helping the Black Cats to earn promotion back to the Championship after years of languishing in League One, whilst at Coventry City, Mark Robins’ side reached the playoff final last season with Doyle at the heart of the defence.
Success seems to follow Doyle everywhere. Leicester City look like clear favourites to return to the Premier League and Doyle’s return from injury will certainly aid this. Man City have recently completed the signing of Josko Gvardiol and also have Nathan Ake as backup, meaning it’s unlikely that Doyle will break into Pep Guardiola’s squad in the near future which could mean his future lies with Leicester.
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