Footballers as magical and mercurial as Riyad Mahrez do not come around all too often. Just ask Leicester City.
It is nearly five years now since the 2016 Premier League PFA Player of the Year forced through his dream, £60 million move to Manchester City. Finding a replacement for a once-in-a-generation talent has understandably proven to be easier said than done.
Rachid Ghezzal, like Mahrez, arrived at the King Power Stadium with an Algerian passport, and a preference for cutting inside from the right wing. That, however, was where the similarities ended; Ghezzal relegated to the fringes after just eight league starts.
Ayoze Perez never looked comfortable on the right-hand side of Brendan Rodgers’ frontline either. Cengiz Under and Ademola Lookman, meanwhile, failed to perform consistently enough to turn their loan deals into permanent contracts.
Now, Leicester supporters may now be predisposed to expect disappointment when it comes to attacking additions – particularly those brought in to start on the right flank – but there is reason to believe that Nicolas Gonzalez can thrive where Ghezzal and co failed.
Leicester City could finally sign Riyad Mahrez replacement in Fiorentina’s Nicolas Gonzalez
A number of publications beleive Leicester have submitted a £30 million bid for Fiorentina’s Argentine international; Gianluca Di Marzio among them. The one-time Stuttgart talisman, 90Min say, is ‘keen’ on a mid-season move to the King Power.
This, funnily enough, comes two years to the day since The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that Tottenham Hotspur were in talks with Gonzalez regarding a potential mid-season switch from Stuttgart to North London. Spurs had little choice but to cool their interest after failing to find buyers for Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela or Steven Bergwijn at the time.
But, while an under-fire Rodgers has publicly bemoaned a lack of backing from the Leicester bosses in recent times, it seems that the Foxes are willing to pick up where Spurs left off back in 2021. With a £30 million bid landing on Fiorentina’s table, Leicester are already further down the line towards Gonzalez than Tottenham ever were.
‘He has a great personality’
Former Stuttgart director Sven Mislintat likened Gonzalez to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during his time in the Bundesliga, but the 21-time Argentina international has a more in common with a Mo Salah, an Antony or, whisper it, a Mahrez.
While versatile enough to fill in on the left or through the middle, Gonzalez as undoubtedly at his most effective when cutting inside from the left onto his favourite foot. And, unlike most of Leicester’s recent attacking signings, he would arrive with a proven track record when it comes to scoring goals in a major European league.
In the Bundesliga and Serie A, Gonzalez has found the net 39 times in three-and-a-half seasons. If Ghezzal, Under and Lookman lacked end product, you certainly couldn’t level the same accusations at Gonzalez.
“He has a great personality. (Gonzalez) is someone who sees the goal. He also takes penalties,” former Fiorentina midfielder Gaetano D’Agostino tells TMW. “He’s a good player. He would be important for, should he stay until the end of the season.”
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