Leicester City Midfielder Tipped to Leave King Power This Summer
By Varun Aithal
According to recent reports, Boubakary Soumare is rumoured to leave King Power Stadium in the ongoing transfer window. Brendan Rodgers, Leicester City manager, confirmed there is interest from clubs across Europe for the French midfielder.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted:
"Boubakary Soumaré wants to leave Leicester, Brendan Rodgers confirms: “There’s an opportunity that has come that interests him. It’s only right that if he’s not going to be here, we have to look at other players in that position”. 🚨🔵 #LCFC Soumaré is in talks with AS Monaco.(Via: Twitter)"
Early in the summer, AS Monaco explored the option of bringing the player back to France, but Leicester City did not want to part ways with him. However, the Ligue 1 outfit clarified their intentions by submitting a deal worth £13 million (including add-ons).
As the Foxes did not budge from their £17 million valuation, the transfer ended up falling through. Now, with the player wanting to leave the Premier League after failing to adapt to the pace, AS Monaco hopes to close a deal this time around.
Boubakary Soumaré wants to leave Leicester, Brendan Rodgers confirms: "There’s an opportunity that has come that interests him. It’s only right that if he’s not going to be here, we have to look at other players in that position". 🚨🔵 #LCFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 13, 2022
Soumaré is in talks with AS Monaco. pic.twitter.com/t0QNXi1NLj
Leicester City’s performance in the summer transfer window
Leicester finally made their first signing of the summer window after a brief silence. They signed Alex Smithies on a Bosman transfer after letting go of their talismanic shot-stopper and skipper Kasper Schmeichel. Alex Smithies played for Cardiff City in the 2021/22 season.
Youri Tielemans has a year left on his contract and multiple Premier League clubs are keeping an eye on him. Arsenal are leading the race to sign the Belgian at the moment.
The club has also sent Hamza Choudhary on loan to Watford. If both Boubakary Soumare and Youri Tielemans leave in the summer transfer window, it remains interesting to see how Rodgers and Leicester City act to the situation.
Boubakary Soumare in the Premier League
Last summer, Leicester City signed Boubakary Soumare from LOSC Lille in a deal worth €20 million. He featured in 19 Premier League games, with only 12 starts to his name.
He had only picked up one assist during his tenure at the King Power Stadium. Even in six Europa League fixtures, the player failed to leave an impression on any fixture.
Soumare’s stats for Leicester City in the 2021/22 season:
- Blocks per 90: 0.1
- Interceptions per 90: 1.2
- Clearances per 90: 1.5
- Long Passes completed per 90: 1.2
- Pass completion % per 90: 82.46
- Take-on success % per 90: 58.33
(Stats via fbref and transfermarkt)
Next. Spurs Players Continue to Look for an Exit. dark
What is the way forward for Leicester City?
The departure of Soumare will leave Foxes light in the midfield with Wilfred Ndidi, Dennis Praet, Nampalys Mendy, Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury Hall as options for the manager.
If they cannot add reinforcements in the summer, Brendan Rodgers will have to look to the academy for support and gear up for one difficult Premier League season.