Cannon was signed by the Foxes on transfer deadline day, beating out a number of other clubs.
Following his eight-goal haul for Preston North End in his first loan term away from Goodison Park in the 2022-23 season, the 20-year-old was in great demand throughout summer, with the Lilywhites leading the pursuit for his services on loan.
With the Toffees digging in their heels and refusing to allow Cannon to return to Deepdale before bringing in their own new strikers, despite reportedly agreeing a deal with Ryan Lowe’s side, the Premier League outfit waited long enough for an auction to take place in the final week of the window.
It also meant that Cannon would
Middlesbrough put £4 million on the table, North End somehow got to £5 million but it was Leicester City who won the race with a fee of around £6 million initially, which could increase even further with add-ons.
There were other clubs keen on the striker though, with Norwich, Stoke and Swansea among the clubs who looked into a deal for the sharp-shooter, and another one of the long-term admirers of Cannon were Sunderland.
The Black Cats have been prolific in signing young, up and coming talents since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus became owner, but they failed to land Cannon in this instance with Enzo Maresca’s Foxes winning out.
Essentially, Leicester beat the Wearsiders to the signature of Cannon because they actually put a cash offer in for the Republic of Ireland youth international – whereas Sunderland didn’t.
Tony Mowbray’s side were linked all summer with Cannon’s services, but they were keen to strike a deal on a permanent basis and not on loan – at the time though, Everton were only considering a loan departure for the attacker.
Things changed though late on in the transfer window, with Everton deciding to finally consider the possibility of one of their brightest youngsters leaving on a full-time basis, with a sale representing pure profit on their Financial Fair Play records.
It’s unlikely though that Sunderland would have stretched to the £6 million-plus fee that Leicester ended up paying for Cannon though, with their attentions instead turning to Ukrainian hot-shot Nazariy Rusyn and Mason Burstow on loan from Chelsea.
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