According to Sky Sports, Leicester City are interested in signing Burnley winger Dwight McNeil. The Foxes will have to compete for his signature, with Wolves, Juventus, and AC Milan all reported to be part of what will be a ‘big transfer battle over the coming weeks’.
McNeil has impressed during his second season of Premier League football at Turf Moor. The 20-year-old played in all 38 games this season picking up two goals and six assists, with his performances leading to him making his national debut for the England U21’s.
Leicester will be taking part in the Europa League next season and Brendan Rodgers appears to be keen to bring to in some new faces to help cope with a more congested fixture list, with the wide areas the main target for improvement.
What would McNeil bring to the Foxes?
McNeil plays predominantly on the left-hand side, working up and down the flank. He is extremely comfortable on the ball and is able to take on defenders allowing him to drive to the byline as well as cut inside.
He topped Burnley's stats for dribbles attempted, crosses attempted and chances created this season, showing his large involvement in a lot of the Clarets play. This type of attacking threat and ability is exactly what Leicester have been lacking from wide positions in recent seasons.
Standing at 6-foot, McNeil is a lot taller than you would expect for a winger but he uses his frame to his advantage. He has great technical ability when dribbling and uses his body well to fend off the opposition when running with the ball.
How does he compare to the Foxes' current wingers?
Despite McNeil having lower goal contributions compared to Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes, his number of big chances created stand out. The Foxes pair created 12 big chances between them this campaign whereas the Burnley youngster created the same number on his own.
When you take into account the play styles of the two teams, this number is even more impressive. Leicester control a lot more of the possession, giving much more freedom for their attacking players to create chances.
Burnley love to defend and a lot of their attacking play comes from long, lofted balls, utilising their physicality in the air rather than expressing too much creativity.
If McNeil can put up these impressive numbers playing in a defensive style, it is exciting to see how much he could excel under Rodgers.
Would he fit in?
The Foxes have needed a more threatening wide player for some time now and McNeil could be exactly what they need.
However, with academy product Barnes having a breakthrough season playing in the same position, it could create a selection headache for Rodgers.
But rather than it being a negative, this may have a positive affect on the squad because having depth and competition for a place is what Leicester have been let down by in previous seasons.
Having two young and promising players challenging eachother for a starting place could lead to an improvement in performance levels for both.