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da bet nacional： According to Turkish outlet, Fanatik, Leicester are eyeing a move for AC Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu. However, if they were to pursue the player further, it would be a big mistake.
What’s the word?
Turkey international Calhanoglu has made his name as a set-piece specialist down the years but now in his second campaign in Serie A, has been largely disappointing, scoring just one goal in the league in 2018/19.
But now he’s attracting Premier League interest with both Leicester and West Ham contemplating a move, per Fanatik.
The report claims the player could cost as much as €30m (£25.9m) which would represent a considerable outlay for either team pursuing a deal. Transfermarkt rates the player at €22m (£19m).
Milan were fined for breaching financial fair play back in December, so they may have to offload a number of their key players this summer.
Transfer would be a big error
Signing an attacking midfielder is the last of Leicester’s worries and should they do so it would potentially be catastrophic for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it could derail any plans to sign Youri Tielemans, a player the club simply have to make a permanent fixture at the King Power, whilst it could also hinder James Maddison, a very similar figure.
Both men are fantastic creative outlets and it’s easy to draw comparisons between their set-piece ability. As a result, the Foxes don’t need to invest in a player who has near identical attributes.
Calhanoglu is versatile, however, and with the ability to play out wide might be a useful option.
But the fact he’s an inside forward when he does play on the wing could be detrimental to the Leicester side if he were to sign. He’d occupy spaces in the channels where Jamie Vardy is so effective and also crowd out the areas where Maddison likes to operate.
It’s unlikely that Brendan Rodgers will have too large a transfer budget this summer and as such, their main priority needs to be Tielemans. In signing Calhanoglu instead, they’d be making a huge error of judgement.