stu

More than £30 million?!

Summary: Leicester City are pursuing Julian Carranza, a 25-year-old Argentine striker (6 ft, right-footed) who has played for Banfield, Inter Miami, Philadelphia Union, and Feyenoord. Career so far: Over 200 senior appearances, 63 goal contributions in 95 matches for Philadelphia Union, Champions League experience, Feyenoord goal of the month vs AC Milan. Strengths: Intelligent movement, good timing on runs (likened to Jamie Vardy), strong scanning/awareness, versatile finishing (headers, volleys, chips, both feet, long shots). Physicality: Competitive in duels, can hold his own against defenders, strong in the air. Link-up play: Comfortable with back-to-goal play and one-touch combinations, which fits Marti Cifuentes’ system. Tactical fit: Would add physicality and presence up front, which current options (Ayew, Daka) lack. Ayew drops deep and links play but is wasteful in front of goal; Daka presses well but lacks all-round game and physicality. Question mark: How his form will translate to the Championship. He excelled in MLS but underperformed his expected goals at Feyenoord. Conclusion: Carranza could give Leicester the physical, goal-scoring centre-forward they’re missing, but success will depend on how well he adapts to the Championship.

Whole thread: Leicester City are advancing in their pursuit of Julian Carranza, so let’s take a look at what he could bring to Marti Cifuentes’ side. Highlights, goals and a further analysis of potentially City’s first outfield signing of the window. Age: 25. Height: 6 ft 0 in. Nationality: Argentinian. Position: Striker. Preferred foot: Right. Clubs: Banfield, Inter Miami, Philadelphia Union, Feyenoord. Now that we have looked at the basics, what has the centre forward achieved so far? Feyenoord goal of the month winner for his header away at the San Siro versus AC Milan. 63 goal contributions in 95 appearances for Philadelphia Union. Capped at youth level for Argentina. Featured in seven Champions League games. 215 senior appearances at 25 years old. In terms of the positions he is found in, the heat maps show how much of his game is spent in the penalty area. Back in his time in the MLS, he can also be seen off the right at times. Little to take from 2025 Eredivisie positions as he started just nine times. His movement is a major reason for his output in front of goal. Ole Gunnar Solskjær even praised this aspect of his game against AC Milan, as it led to a stellar headed goal. He also likes to run in behind, and play on the shoulder. Quite Vardy-esque, and he has the ability to time it incredibly well. Constantly scanning as well, which really helps with his awareness and movement. The example below supports this as he scans three times before receiving and then eventually scoring. Has many different ways of finishing, as his shot selection is strong. Overhead kick, dink, finesse, volley all in his repertoire. Many ways to find the net, which will certainly help when under pressure and facing unique problems. Relatively strong off his left foot considering his right is preferred. Scored using it from tight angles too, which is even more impressive. Can also strike from range. Despite being a threat in the penalty area, his shooting technique allows him to also find the net from distance. Those curling efforts from off the left really stand out. Standing at 6 ft tall, it’s no surprise that Carranza has scored his fair share of headers. Gains separation brilliantly, but also has the physicality to beat his marker. We know how physical the Championship is and that may be a concern when looking at the league’s Carranza has played in. However, he is up for the battle, and wants to compete with defenders. Holds his own well, and I think this is very significant when compared to Ayew/Daka. As for link-up play, the attacker shows his ability to escape pressure. Not scared off the physical battle, willing to play back to goal and open up space elsewhere. One-touch combinations are a feature of Cifuentes’ play and are something Carranza can add to. As mentioned above, links up well for goals and can receive the ball under pressure. Now that Carranza’s play style is out the way, let’s take a look at how he fits into the Marti way. What does Marti Cifuentes expect from his centre-forward? Pin the backline. Drop in and subsequently open up space in behind. Play as a false 9 at times. Press high. In City’s first four league games, Jordan Ayew played every single minute. His main role has been dropping in, linking play and dragging defenders. Whilst this worked versus Wednesday, it has also been ineffective. Both Daka and Ayew have been shown to reduce City’s threat at times, which makes sense considering they’re receiving back to goal so much. However, even when Ayew has been in dangerous positions, he has been wasteful. Take the chance at Preston where he ignored Winks. Daka’s energy and pressing has been decent, but neither are really well-rounded enough. I think they lack the physicality against centre-backs too. Think back to Preston where they weren’t winning the fouls and were being dominated. Cifuentes even acknowledged Ayew as a 9.5 ahead of the Birmingham City game, which further shows the need for a recognised striker. Therefore, Carranza would add that physicality, which we have been missing. He can link play, but also has the movement to get into the right spaces to tuck away chances. Example below I think Ayew is dropping in but then not necessarily in the positions to find the net. The big question when it comes to Carranza is how will he translate to the Championship? Can he return to the MLS form, or will he have a similar output as his time at Feyenoord, where he underperformed his xG?

🚨 Info: Bilal El Khannouss 🇲🇦 The midfielder will join Germany in the coming hours. Near-total agreement reached between Leicester and the German club. Some details remain. Around 30 million euros and a 4-year contract. Suggestion of 30m Euros here, so £26 million.

Great read:

Doubt Palace deal with us after not bowing down in the El Khannouss saga. Although they owe us for Ayew and Edouard.

Completely agree, but I think that’s because we have someone pressing from the front, rather than Ayew’s False 9 role. It isn’t necessarily down to Daka, any actual striker would do the same job.

The shock will be if we actually sign anyone after our past few experiences with transfer deadline days.

Signing a whole new team at this rate! Leicester and Pisa, as well as two Swiss clubs, wish to sign Amine Chabane (2006), who has had a good start to the season with Amiens.

Julián Carranza has advanced negotiations to join Leicester City as a reinforcement. *️⃣The talks with Feyenoord are in the final stage to try to reach an agreement.

I know this is mentioned in the Twitter thread, but reports in Hamburg claim they have rejected a bid from us: https://sports.yahoo.com/article/st-pauli-reject-leicester-city-145600323.html Translation from Hamburg source: English Former Champions Eye Eric Smith – This Is How St. Pauli Reacts Hamburg – Eric Smith (28) is the midfield director at FC St. Pauli. If he were to transfer, he could expect a significant salary increase. Now details about a concrete inquiry have become known. After the derby victory against HSV, in which Smith once again led St. Pauli’s defense with authority, interest from abroad has intensified. Leicester City, former champions of the English Premier League, have made an offer for the Swede. For Smith, the move would not only mean a new sporting challenge, but also a large financial upgrade. According to reports, the offer on the table would more than double his current salary. However, FC St. Pauli has made its stance clear: the club has rejected Leicester’s offer and is planning to continue with Smith as a key figure in the squad. Leicester is said to be looking for a replacement after losing midfielder Wilfred Ndidi to Beşiktaş. Smith fits the profile, but St. Pauli does not want to let their vice-captain and defensive leader go.

Seems to be very one footed. Average finisher. Strengths seem to be his heading ability and his hold-up play. I can see our wingers liking playing with this guy.

Come on, someone upload a highlights video to save me from searching please.

Leicester City are interested in signing Hammarby striker Yusef Erabi. The 22-year-old scored six goals and provided one assist in 22 games last season. He has also scored one goal in four games for Sweden’s under-21 side. Leicester, whose signing of Asmir Begovic in July remains the club's only incoming this summer, face Birmingham City at the King Power this evening.

Might be nothing in it, but interesting to see that recent striker links are more Target men types of players.

Lille and Leicester City are both in advanced negotiations with Queens Park Rangers (QPR) over the signing of Algerian striker Rayan Kolli, according to exclusive reports from Africafoot. The 20-year-old forward, who holds Algerian, English, and French nationalities, came through QPR’s academy and has been on Lille’s radar for several months. Leicester City, currently competing in the English Championship, have more recently joined the race to secure his signature. Kolli’s market value is currently estimated at €1.5 million, according to Transfermarkt. He has made a bright start to the new season, scoring on his debut in the EFL Cup and making three appearances in the Championship.

New name in the O’Rourke Transfer Bingo! I’m sure one will stick eventually…

No, same window.