Why Nicolas Nkoulou would be a good signing for Leicester City
Leicester City are in the hunt for defensive reinforcements and their search has zeroed down to veteran Torino centre-back, Nicolas Nkoulou, according to Italian outlet Tuttosport (h/t Leicestershire Live). A quality defender, Nkoulou can replace Jonny Evans and form a partnership alongside last season’s breakout defender, Caglar Soyuncu.
Profile
Nicolas Nkoulou is a 30-year-old Cameroonian centre-back who plays for Serie A club Torino. He started his professional career at Monaco who brought him in from Kadji Sports Academy back in 2007. A year later, he was promoted to the first-team at AS Monaco.
He went on to feature for them for 3 years before making the move to Marseille in 2011. It was at Marseille that he cemented his place in the backline and made over 200 appearances in five years.
Lyon secured his signature in 2016 but he couldn’t get a good run of games in 2016-17. A loan move to Torino followed in 2017 and he was permanently bought by them in 2018. Since then, he has made more than 100 appearances in three seasons.
While he might be a centre-back, Nkoulou has a knack for popping up with the odd goal. He featured in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season consecutively in 2012 and 2013. His record for Cameroon is also something to talk about. He won the Africa Cup of Nations back in 2017.
Should Leicester sign Nkoulou?
Given his credentials, it should be a no-brainer for Leicester to go for him. He has played over 350 games at club level and 75 games for Cameroon.
Given that Evans and Wes Morgan are 32 and 36 respectively, a player like Nkoulou would definitely represent an upgrade on them. He comes in as a veteran and brings a winning mentality that Leicester could use.
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Verdict
Nkoulou’s experience in European competitions is something Leicester could like given that they have a Europa League campaign this season. Leicester would be smart enough to go for him this summer in a bid to bolster themselves at the back.
