Leicester City are one Premier League club that could be very active on deadline day of the summer transfer window as they have a lot of money to spend following the £80m sale of Harry Maguire (h/t BBC). The Foxes are reportedly interested in signing Sampdoria midfielder Dennis Praet and have made a breakthrough in their pursuit.
A Guardian report states that the Italian club have demanded £18.4 million for the 25-year-old Belgium international which Leicester are ready to pay. Praet has already agreed on a 5-year deal with the Foxes, the report adds.
Praet has been with Sampdoria since 2016, having signed for them from Belgian club, Anderlecht, in 2016 for €10 million. In the 2018-19 season, Praet made 37 appearances for the club, scoring twice and providing three assists. He has so far made over 100 appearances for Sampdoria in three seasons. The 25-year-old has also made 3 appearances for the Belgium national team since debuting in 2014.
Who will Rodgers fit him into the team?
Leicester City have a very strong midfield with manager Brendan Rodgers having several options in the middle of the park for the 2019-20 season. The former Liverpool manager has the likes of Wilfred Ndidi and Nampalys Mendy in defensive midfield positions, and Matty James, Adrien Silva, Youri Tielemans, and Andy King in central midfield. Further forward, James Maddison – who had a fantastic 2018-19 campaign for the Foxes, is a bright prospect in the attacking midfield position, while new signing (h/t Guardian) from Newcastle United, Ayoze Perez, can also play the attacking midfield role.
If Leicester do complete the signing of Dennis Praet, he will mostly slot in alongside Youri Tielemans in central midfield with Ndidi behind them, and Maddison and Perez operating ahead of them, behind the main striker, Jamie Vardy. Rodgers could probably play a narrow system going by the numerous midfielders and attacking midfielders that he has for the 2019-20 season, and perhaps allow the full-backs to give the team width.
Praet is a player who can control the tempo of the game from midfield and keep the ball ticking. With him alongside Tielemans, Leicester could hold on to the ball for long spells of time, which makes Praet a very good player for that tactic. The Belgian completed an average of 51.1 passes last season for Sampdoria and a pass completion percentage of 87.3%.
