Leicester City have January transfer targets lined up – but now it’s up to Ruud van Nistelrooy to decide which to pursue.
The City manager confirmed last week that there would be funds available for business next month, allowing him to strengthen his squad. It’s just a matter of deciding where.
The club’s scouting and recruitment team will have been working towards January since the summer window closed and van Nistelrooy says much of the preparation for the window has been done. Targets have been identified in a range of positions.
But first, van Nistelrooy needs to continue his assessment of the squad, to see where he feels they need bolstering. That includes looking more closely at the under-21s too, to see if there are any young stars ready to promote.
As well as young midfielder Henry Cartwright, who has been brought into the fold amid the shortage of available senior midfielders, full-back Jayden Joseph has also been included in first-team training. The attack-minded 19-year-old, who can play on either flank, has started eight of City’s nine games in Premier League 2 this season.
Van Nistelrooy said: “(Transfers are) a continuous process. The way it’s organised within the club, I like it a lot, the way everybody is preparing different options as possibilities. It’s whether we want to go for these options or not.
“You cannot start thinking of options at the time you want them. We’re in the process. We’re looking at different positions to prepare ourselves, but first of all I’m looking at the current players and also in the under-21s, what’s available there.
“We’ve had young JJ, I call him, he’s been a part of training, Henry Cartwright was part of training because of injury to Wilf (Ndidi) and suspension of Bouba (Soumare). We’re seeing players from there and we’re assessing them all. In the end I will have a good picture of what is needed in each position in the window.”
While City saw a number of transfers break down during the summer window, including those of winger Wilfried Zaha and striker Adam Hlozek, they did head into September with a balanced squad, with at least two players for every position. That was why Steve Cooper’s transfer focus, before he left the club, was to look for a couple of players who could improve the starting line-up.
The only position where City might look short of options is at full-back, with Ricardo Pereira out until March with a hamstring injury. That leaves just James Justin, Victor Kristiansen and Luke Thomas as the senior options in that position.
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