Why Bryan Mbuemo would be a good signing for Leicester
According to claims from French website Foot Mercato (h/t Leicestershire Live), Leicester City have been credited with an interest in Brentford winger Bryan Mbuemo.
As per the report, the Foxes are interested in the 21-year-old because he perfectly fits the profile of players they are looking to sign this summer.
Profile
Born in Avallon, France, to parents of Cameroonian descent, Bryan Mbuemo featured for several lower division clubs at the youth level before joining Troyes’ academy back in 2013.
The 21-year-old made his senior debut in Ligue 1 during the 2017-18 season that culminated in relegation for Troyes. Mbuemo played a key role in the French second tier in the following campaign, with his impressive displays paving the way for a £6m move to Brentford last summer.
The French U-21 international went on to enjoy a spectacular debut season in the EFL Championship as a part of Brentford’s famous BMW strike force featuring Said Benrahma and Ollie Watkins.
Mbuemo plundered an astonishing 17 goals and 8 assists across all competitions as Thomas Frank’s side went all the way through to the Championship playoff final.
Why Leicester need him
Despite operating within the top-four for the majority of the previous campaign, a series of slip-ups towards the back end of the season saw Leicester miss out on Champions League qualification. Nevertheless, a 5th-place finish was a significant achievement for the Foxes, who were helped greatly in their efforts by Jamie Vardy’s 23-goal haul in the league last term.
The likes of James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho and Ayoze Perez all chipped in with valuable goal contributions while Harvey Barnes was a standout performer down the flanks with an impressive tally of 6 goals and 8 assists.
With that in mind, however, Leicester often seemed to lack depth and quality in the wide areas. Demarai Gray and Marcus Albrighton were the go-to wide options for Brendan Rodgers from the bench but neither made a massive impact last season.
In fact, the Foxes have lacked that much-needed cutting edge down the right-hand side of the pitch since the departure of Riyad Mahrez to Man City in 2018.
To put things into perspective, Leicester can certainly do with some upgrades down the flanks and raiding the Championship for Bryan Mbuemo would definitely be a smart idea for the East Midlands outfit.
The 21-year-old’s mammoth tally of goals and assists in the Championship last season suggests that he deserves a shot at the Premier League. Moreover, his left-footed nature would offer something different when compared to the current crop of wide players at the club, almost all of whom are right-footed.
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Verdict
Bryan Mbuemo still has his best years ahead of him and could only get better with time. Hence, the Foxes shouldn’t shy away from this move even if it takes a significant outlay to lure him away from Griffin Park.
Leicester will need more depth in their attack to cope with the fixture congestion in the 2020-21 Premier League due to the delayed start in September. The Europa League will, of course, present a different challenge and the acquisition of the Championship starlet could set them up nicely for a strong campaign on all fronts.
