FanSided World Football
·16 November 2024
FanSided World Football
·16 November 2024
Steve Cooper's side are not doing particularly poorly, although nowhere near their previously lofty heights still. For now, the Foxes remain at the top of their own little mini-league of relegation candidates. However, this could soon change and with the next set of fixtures looking tough, the period after December could be critical to our survivial hopes.
As such, the January transfer window will likely be busy for the Foxes. Not so much in quantitiy of signings, but we should expect moves away and signings as the King Power club attempts to strengthen its squad. The focus for Cooper has to be defensively strong characters in my opinion.
In that scenario, Egyptian striker Mostafa Mohamed has been identified by the club as a possible target for the window. Now, upon initially seeing this report, I would say I feel there would need to be some outgoings for the signing itself to make any sense at all. Nevertheless, there are three elements which Leicester City should consider when choosing whether to sign the player or not.
Firstly, Mohamed is stylistically suited to a less possessive side. When on-field, the player is in the top percentiles of forwards for making defensive actions. This includes mostly in the attacking third, where Mohamed can disrupt early attempts at counter-attacking plays or attempt to win the ball and initiate a swift transition with explosive wingers. The Egyptian himself is not a particularly pacy or explosive forward.
Secondly, should the Foxes be on the lookout for a goal-scoring threat, then this player is not that. Across three seasons with FC Nantes in Ligue 1, Mohamed has amassed 17 goals and five assists; when that is 75 games it is not quite impressive. So, the talent does not bring assists or a major goal-scoring threat, although they do quite a bit of work without the ball to support the team regardless - another Jordan Ayew.
Finally, Mohamed is partially known for some recent disciplinary issues and part of the initial report suggests the player wants a move. This could indicate Leicester City would be signing someone who could drop tools should they no longer wish to play for the side. Those disciplinary issues include simply deciding not to play for FC Nantes due to the rainbow armband: the Foxes have built a strongly inclusive brand, and will themselves wear armbands as requested by the Premier League or EFL.
I would urge against signing more experienced non-winners with inconsistent scoring sprees and with a purely defensive tone in mind. Should Cooper's team be relegated, they will then want a progressive and possessive side rather than a defensive and weak-minded group. We need more Abdul Fatawu's, not Mostafa Mohamed.