There are two ways to judge Ayoze Perez’s performance against Everton this week.
On one hand, the £30 million Spaniard gave Carlo Ancelotti’s tightly packed defence plenty of headaches. Those trademark, darting runs into the half-spaces opened pockets for the likes of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes to wreak havoc.
On the other, Perez failed to provide anything remotely resembling a goal threat in the absence of the one-man wrecking ball who is Jamie Vardy. In 90 minutes, he managed just one shot on goal.
If there’s one area of weakness in this Leicester squad – one that arguably beats the title-winning 2016 vintage hands down when it comes to raw talent – it’s that Brendan Rodgers doesn’t have a reliable goalscorer to call on if 34-year-old Vardy is unavailable.
Between them, Perez and the inconsistent Kelechi Iheanacho have scored just 14 league goals since the start of 2019/20.
Put in context, that’s fewer than a man Leicester sold for just £10 million has this season alone.
With two well-taken efforts in Hoffenheim’s 3-0 thrashing of Koln last weekend, Andrej Kramaric overtook the legendary Ivica Olic to become the most prolific Croatian footballer in Bundesliga history.
Not that the former Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Wolfsburg ace was too disappointed. Kramaric, Olic says, is a more than worthy rival.
“I called Andrej and congratulated him from the bottom of my heart. It was only a matter of time before he would break my record,” Olic tells SportBild of man who has found the net 17 times in 19 matches this season – two of those in a 4-1 thrashing of Bayern Munich.
“Before the season started he said to me, ‘I’ll overtake you soon’. My answer: ‘I know’, Olic added.”
Kramaric managed a remarkable 13 goals in five games late last year too, including a stunning quartet against Borussia Dortmund.
“Andrej has an outstanding tally. You have to say great respect,” says Olic.
“He has this incredible composure. In this respect, you can really compare him to Robert Lewandowski. Andrej is a top striker with an incredible nose for goals, a super-fine technician, quick to move and an enormous challenge for the opposing defenders.”
Kramaric was bombed out of Leicester after just 15 Premier League appearances between 2015 and 2016.
You get the feeling that, if Brendan Rodgers could turn back the clock, he would waste little time in righting one of the few mistakes Claudio Ranieri made in his historic time in charge at the King Power.
“Andrej has the quality to play for any club in the world. He’s been living in Germany for a few years, has developed really well and I still see him staying in this league,” Olic adds.
“It would be a shame if the Bundesliga lost such an extraordinary striker.
“In my opinion, Kramaric would be more than just a replacement for Lewandowski (at Bayern Munich). Bayern need a lot of top-class players in the squad because they often have to play every three days – injuries and national team secondments occur.
“No matter which top club Andrej went to, he would have strong competition everywhere. And he’s not the type to think, ‘Okay, I’m just a substitute’. He is self-confident, knows about his qualities and fights for himself.”
From falling behind Leonardo Ulloa at Leicester to rivalling Lewandowski for the title of the Bundesliga’s most influential striker, it has been some rise for Kramaric.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
