Leicester eye Croatia stopper to keep Kasper ticking
Published:
For many teams like Leicester who find themselves higher up the table than they might originally envisage, the temptation to just go along with it and see what happens can often prove too great to ignore, but the Foxes seemingly want more.
Claudio Ranieri has continually refuted that he will cash in on star men Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, and according to reports in the press, the Italian is in the market for a goalkeeper to keep pressure on Kasper Schmeical.
Leicester’s current back-up goalies are Mark Schwarzer and Ben Hamer, and though Schwarzer has the experience, the Aussie is now 43-years-old, while Hamer has just eight Premier League games under his gloves.
And so Ranieri has turned his attention to Hajduk Split’s 6ft 7in unit of a stopper Lovre Kalinic.
The 25-year-old has impressed with Split this season, keeping 12 clean sheets in 20 matches, and has Europa League experience this term too.
Valued at just £1.16m by transfermarkt.co.uk, Kalinic appears to tick a host of boxes for Leicester as stiffer competition for Schmeical.
Midland rivals Aston Villa are also rumoured to be courting the Croatian international, who will be keen to impress in the run-up to Euro 2016.
Kalinic was heavily linked with Chelsea this time last year, though that seems to have gone quiet following Thibaut Courtois’s assertion as number one at Stamford Bridge.
Leicester are fourth-favourites at 16/1 to win the league, but statistically speaking they are an excellent shot for a Champions League place, a price for which they are 19/20 with Ladbrokes.
Any move may not have major implications on this season’s title chase, but it’s the latest indication that Ranieri will do whatever he can to ensure Leicester bag a top-four spot, and indeed have a squad capable of, well, who knows what next season?
It appears that the Tinkerman has been busy tinkering this Christmas.
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