Why Arsenal’s Elneny would be a great addition for Leicester City
According to Turkish outlet Sozcu via Sport Witness (h/t Football London), Leicester City are eyeing a move for Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny.
The Foxes, who intend to sign Elneny at the end of this season, meanwhile, face stiff competition from Valencia and Besiktas, where the defensive midfielder is currently on a season-long loan from Arsenal.
The 27-year-old, who fell out of favour with former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been impressive since making his switch to the Turkish side. He has featured in 13 games so far for the Black Eagles.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester, on the other hand, are on cloud nine as they sit comfortably at second place in the Premier League table, with 12 wins from 16 games.
Leicester have looked excellent under Rodgers this season, with the team clicking in all departments. One of the key players for Rodgers this season has been defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.
The Nigerian has made 69 successful tackles this season already, which is the second-best tally in the league only behind teammate Ricardo Pereira. His commanding presence in the middle has been a major reason for Rodgers’ side conceding just 9 goals this season.
The Foxes currently have the best defensive record in the league and the Irish coach owes it all to Ndidi, who has acted as a shield in front of the Leicester back-four, cutting down opposition attacks with ease.
His performances in the middle have been so dominating that other holding midfielders such as Hamza Choudhury, Nampalys Mendy, and Daniel Amartey have found it tough to make it to the first-team.
Rodgers’ second choice in the deep-lying midfield role – Choudhury is still young and has not yet reached the standards of his teammate Ndidi.
Mendy and Amartey, on the other hand, have been on the fringes for a long time and continue to be overlooked by Rodgers, who clearly does not seem to prefer the duo. Taking this into consideration, Leicester targeting a seasoned campaigner like Elneny comes as no big surprise.
Elneny, who was signed by former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger in 2016 from Swiss outfit FC Basel in 2016, has tons of experience under his belt.
The Egyptian has played a total of 89 matches for the North London club but was never a regular starter there due to immense competition in the midfield.
However, he has been a regular for his national side since making his debut in 2011 and has gone on to play 77 matches for them, scoring 6 times.
Having vied for a spot which included the likes of Mesut Ozil, Granit Xhaka and many other high-profile names, nobody knows it better than Elneny to compete at the highest level.
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Verdict
Bringing in the experienced Elneny would offer healthy competition for Ndidi, who at the moment, seems to have cemented the spot for himself in the Foxes starting line-up.
Moreover, Elneny would offer the Leicester boss with more options in the middle if at all such a situation arises in the future.