Why Noussair Mazraoui to Leicester City doesn’t make sense
According to Leicestershire Live, Leicester City have been linked with a move for Ajax right-back Noussair Mazraoui, who has also attracted interest from a number of other big clubs in Europe.
Premier League rivals Tottenham and La Liga giants Valencia are also keeping close tabs on the 21-year-old’s situation at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Leicestershire Live understands.
A youth exponent of the widely-revered Ajax academy, Mazraoui burst on to the scene in the Eredivisie during the 2017-18 season before guiding the club to the domestic title and the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League last season.
Mazraoui, who was a part of Morocco’s squad at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt earlier in the summer, accumulated a tally of 4 goals and 5 assists in 48 appearances for Ajax across all competitions last season.
However, things have gone downhill for the highly-rated 21-year-old this term, with the Moroccan international making only 8 appearances in all competitions. As per the report, Mazraoui is unhappy with his sudden fall in grace and could be tempted to look for greener pastures if things do not improve soon.
As far as Leicester are concerned, the need for reinforcements in certain areas is more than apparent. But their links with Noussair Mazraoui looks completely bizarre given that the Foxes are hardly crying out for reinforcements at right-back.
In fact, that is one area that Brendan Rodgers need not enhance any further, with Ricardo Pereira proving his burgeoning reputation.
The Foxes snapped up James Justin from Luton Town as a bright emerging prospect in the summer and bringing in Mazraoui in January would only lead to unwanted selection dilemma.
Although Mazraoui is an exciting young right-back, Pereira has been one of the club’s standout players over the past 12 months ever since his move from Porto and the numbers prove it.
Given his heroics in the Champions League last season, Mazraoui already has an impressive CV. But it is difficult to see how and where the Moroccan would fit into Rodgers’ plans.
Verdict
Undoubtedly, Mazraoui is a proven right-back and would definitely be an upgrade on James Justin but that would hardly guarantee him a regular starting role, with Pereira exceeding all expectations.
The Moroccan would provide Pereira with better competition for a starting role but if game time is really the issue for Mazraoui at Ajax, the prospect of him playing regularly at Leicester looks bleak too.
Leicester have some quality youngsters like James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Hamza Choudhury, Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu in the first-team and though Mazraoui could be yet another exciting addition, the Foxes would be better off improving other areas of the squad.
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With Kelechi Iheanacho failing to make an impact, the Foxes can certainly do with a better back-up for Jamie Vardy, and can also bring in a top-quality winger to aid their surge for a top-six finish.
Suffice to say, signing Noussair Mazraoui would simply be a waste of valuable funds for Leicester.
