Leicester City have reportedly met the release clause of West Bromwich Albion captain Jonny Evans – is he the ideal replacement for Wes Morgan?
Evans has been chased by some of the Premier League’s biggest, with both Arsenal and Manchester City reported having shown interest as recently as January.
And so the capture of the Northern Irishman is something of a coup for the Foxes. More than that, however, he’s also an ideal replacement for the ageing Wes Morgan.
At 34-years-old, Morgan can’t really be considered a reliable choice for Leicester going forward and, with no obvious replacement already at the club, someone has to be brought in.
Replacing him brings up the question of how much change is needed in the position? The biggest challenge is experience; Morgan is Leicester’s captain and by far the most experienced member of their backline. Well, at 30-years-old, Evans brings some of that on his own, having also captained West Brom.
But there’s also a question of style. Morgan has been a capable defender in Leicester’s deep approach but someone new gives an opportunity to shift the defence a bit.
Evans allows choice there. He’s competent enough on the ball to play higher up the pitch as well as having experience playing that way thanks to his time with Manchester United. At the same time, his years with West Brom have seen him play a deep line in a similar style to Leicester. Above everything, Evans gives the club some flexibility in their approach.
Merely days into the window, Leicester have already rebuilt their ageing defence from one that was stuck in a certain system to one that suddenly looks fresh and very capable. First the signing of Ricardo Pereira from Porto and now the meeting of Evans’ clause; we still need to see what becomes of Riyad Mahrez but things are very exciting at the King Power Stadium once again.
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