With the 2015-16 Premier League season getting underway in less than two weeks, Leicester City have been linked with a surprising move for England international Rickie Lambert.
According to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, the Foxes have made their interest clear to Liverpool in acquiring the services of the striker.
A likely exit from Anfield
Having struggled in his maiden season at his boyhood club, Lambert, 33, may be open to a departure in search of regular first-team football. The striker, signed for £4.5 million pounds twelve months ago, only scored three goals last season, a shadow of his former prolific self.
It is often said that Lambert does not fit in with the fast-paced and high-octane counter attacking style of play at Anfield. During his career at clubs such as Southampton, Bristol Rovers and Rochdale, Lambert was utilised as a traditional target-man, a very different role to other Liverpool attackers.
The Reds currently have a plethora of attacking talent available to them for the new season so it is not unreasonable seeing Lambert leaving Anfield in the near future. He will have to compete with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini, Divock Origi, Roberto Firmino, Danny Ings and the recently signed Christian Benteke for a place in the team.
Will he fit at Leicester?
However, the experienced striker may also find game-time hard to come by at the King Power stadium. Leicester recently signed Japanese international Shinji Okazaki in order to compliment their talented armoury of Leonardo Ulloa, Andrej Kramaric, Jamie Vardy and David Nugent. So, the question remains as to whether they actually require another striker.
Furthermore, Leicester Mercury writer Rob Tanner recently tweeted that the interest in Lambert is "historic". But, the Midlands club apparently wished to be "kept informed" of his situation following the winter transfer window under previous manager Nigel Pearson. Therefore, Claudio Ranieri may not wish to sign Lambert at all.
Meanwhile, Leicester City's potential move for midfielder Namaplys Mendy may have hit a snag as the French international does not want to move to club and would prefer to stay at Nice (according to L'Equipe).