Why West Brom Loanee Ahmed Hegazi Should Snub Liverpool To Join Leicester City
Liverpool and Leicester City are both being linked with January move for Ahmed Hegazi, who is currently serving a loan spell at West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies have an option to sign him permanently for a sum of €5million and considering how important he has been for them, they could trigger that clause. However, if they don’t, Hegazi has potential suitors in the form of the Foxes and the Merseyside club.
Egyptian centre-back Hegazi has been one of West Brom’s standout performers even as the club has been involved in a lot of turmoil on and off the field. He joined from Al Ahly over the summer and has been pivotal to whatever little success the club has had so far this season.
As of now, Hegazi has made 14 appearances for the Baggies this season. Despite being a centre-back, he has scored a goal and 3 assists for the club and continues to be a rock at the heart of West Brom’s defence. The 26-year-old scored his solitary goal of the season on his Premier League debut and has been providing equal support to the attack and the defence. The player does seem like a catch but it might be in his best interests to snub Liverpool and join Leicester City instead.
Of course, Liverpool are in dire need of bolstering their defensive options. Despite having one of the most lethal attacks this season, the Reds have failed to truly make an impact due to their leaky defence which has conceded 18 goals already. Joel Matip has been average while Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren have just failed to do anything at the back. This explains why Jurgen Klopp was so desperate to sign Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk during the summer.
In fact, they might still go on to land the wantaway Saints star and if that happens, Hegazi might have to compete with him for playing time. Hence, making a move to join Leicester seems like the better option for the player.
The Foxes have been monitoring Hegazi and are pleased with what they have seen, which could prompt them towards making an official move in January. Although they signed Hull City’s Harry Maguire in the summer, the defender has proven to be quite ineffective at the back.
Hence, new manager Claude Puel could look for fresh options to repair their defence that has conceded 20 goals and has struggled to maintain clean sheets so far. Hegazi seems like the right man to do that and looking at the numbers, it seems like Leicester have a greater need for a player like him than Liverpool.