Leicester City Opinion: Andros Townsend could go on to play a key role for the Foxes next season
According to The Mirror, Leicester City have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace and England winger Andros Townsend ahead of the summer transfer window, with reports claiming that manager Brendan Rodgers is keen to bring the former Spurs and Newcastle man to the King Power Stadium prior to the upcoming campaign.
The Mirror understands that Palace have slapped a £14 million price tag on the 27-year-old, who has been an influential figure at Selhurst Park since his move from Newcastle back in 2016.
Townsend blew hot and cold at Palace in the Premier League this past season but he still managed to end the campaign with 6 goals and 4 assists in 38 league appearances, returns which are quite good given that the Eagles didn’t do an awful lot as a team in the final third.
The 27-year-old rose through the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur and had as many as nine loan stints early in his career before earning a place in the first-team. Despite putting up some fine displays at his boyhood club, Townsend fell out of favour in the 2015-16 season and left Spurs to join Newcastle United in January 2016.
However, Townsend spent only six months at Tyneside and scored 4 goals in 13 Premier League outings for the Magpies before moving back to the capital with Crystal Palace in the summer of 2016.
The 27-year-old hasn’t featured at the international level for England since his departure from Spurs but his time at Selhurst Park has been a fruitful one, accumulating 14 goals and 22 assists in 124 appearances for the Eagles across all competitions.
Townsend, who has 3 goals in 13 international appearances for England, has carved out a reputation for himself in the Premier League as a pacy and tricky winger over the years.
He isn’t the most consistent of players in the division and tends to shift gears numerous times over the course of the season but few would dare to argue that the 27-year-old has enough in his repertoire to rip defences apart when he is at his best.
To put things into perspective, Leicester City would strike gold with the signing of Andros Townsend and getting a player of his calibre on board for 14 million could prove to be a bargain for the Foxes.
If Leicester are really serious about making a return to Europe under Brendan Rodgers, they need to plug a few gaps in the summer window, and right-wing is an area which is certainly in need of some investment.
The Foxes are yet to find a replacement for Riyad Mahrez, who departed for Man City last summer, and although they brought in his compatriot Rachid Ghezzal from Monaco as a like-for-like replacement, he hasn’t been able to get to grips with the English game.
Marcus Albrighton is certainly a handy option to have but someone like Townsend would add that bit of unpredictability and X-factor to the attack.
Primarily a left-footed wide player, Townsend is at his best when he is deployed as an inverted winger down the right, which allows him to use his pace and trickery to cut inside from the flanks.
The England international has shown over the years that he is more than capable of producing spectacular goals from outside the box and he is always a threat in the final third with his lightning pace and flair on the ball.
Townsend is a proven source of goals and assists in the Premier League and he would bring in a lot of experience to a young and talented Leicester side comprising of the likes of James Maddison, Demarai Gray and Harvey Barnes in the attacking ranks.
He has a good eye for key passes in the final third, meaning that he could prove to be an ideal feeder for Jamie Vardy from the flanks.
From the player’s point of view, Townsend is very much in his prime years at 27 and a move to Leicester City should do his career a world of good. The Foxes, under Rodgers, are likely to show a lot of ambition in the Premier League and that should give Townsend a better chance of impressing England boss Gareth Southgate in a bid to reclaim his spot in the national team.
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To conclude, this a move that suits both the player and the club, and it is not difficult to see why and how Leicester would benefit from Townsend’s presence next season.
