Leicester City’s January transfer plans could be kickstarted by £15m striker transfer.
Odsonne Edouard is the subject of interest from Atlanta United in MLS, but the loanee striker from Crystal Palace does not appear to be their first-choice target.
Leicester City’s transfer plans could receive a significant boost after MLS side Atlanta United reportedly made a £15m offer for striker Odsonne Edouard.
City have one player through the door in right-back Woyo Coulibaly but are looking to strengthen with at least a couple more signings this window. If Crystal Palace loanee Edouard was to depart, it would help their cause.
With Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka to choose from, Edouard has not played a single minute under Ruud van Nistelrooy and there is little reason to retain him for the second half of the season. If he left, it would open up a Premier League loan slot for City, with clubs only permitted to have two loans from rival clubs at any one time, and with the other space already filled by Facundo Buonanotte.
With budgets tight, van Nistelrooy admitted on Thursday that City were scouring the loan market. He said: “We’re working on it, every possibility we can add. Permanents and loans, within the possibilities of the club. Hopefully we can add more.”
Seeing Edouard leave without City having to cancel his loan would be a bonus, but it’s not a certainty he will yet move to Atlanta. The MLS club have been looking for a marquee striker signing for the upcoming 2025 season in the US, but while they are reported by Mail Sport to have made a £15m offer for Edouard, it doesn’t seem as if he is their first-choice target.
They are also in talks with Middlesbrough over Ivorian striker Emmanuel Latte Lath, bidding up to £20m for him. If that deal goes through, then their interest in Edouard will end.
Plus, City are a little helpless in the situation, as it is down to Palace how Edouard’s future plays out. But having been surplus to requirements under Oliver Glasner, and with 18 months left on his contract at Selhurst Park, it would not be a surprise if they took this opportunity to sell the French forward.
If Edouard leaves and City open up a loan slot, it is likely they will target a new centre-back or right-sided winger. Targeting a new striker is not out of the question either.
