With just days to go left of the transfer window left to go Steve Cooper will want to focus on how he can improve his Leicester City squad.
Leicester City have welcomed seven arrivals this summer, with one of those the permanent signing of Abdul Fatawu after a successful loan spell last season.
Facundo Buonanotte has impressed already after joining on loan from Brighton, whilst Micheal Golding, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Caleb Okoli, Oliver Skipp and Jordan Ayew have all made permanent switches.
Steve Cooper still wants further additions before Friday’s 11pm transfer deadline, with a striker and another attacking midfielder high on his agenda.
However, he has been hit with a real bombshell this week with reports that star defender Wout Faes has become disillusioned with life at Leicester and could push for an exit in the remaining days of the window.
Faes would be a huge loss, but here are five replacements Leicester should consider if the Belgian international negotiates an exit.
Leicester City should target Trevoh Chalobah as Wout Faes replacement
Given Faes’ pedigree, the only good news from a potential departure is that the 26-year-old should command a sizeable fee if he is sold in the coming days.
Faes was the biggest positive at Fulham as he scored despite a 2-1 defeat at the weekend and it is now possible that game could have been his last for the club.
If a sale goes through then Leicester could act decisively to sign Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah.
Chalobah has not made a match-day squad for Chelsea so far this season and is free to leave should the Stamford Bridge club receive a bid in the region of £25 million.
With real quality needed to replace Faes, Chalobah could be a signing that soon makes Leicester fans forget about the former Reims defender.
Steve Cooper could consider more for Jamaal Lascelles
Another centre-back Cooper could move for is Newcastle United’s Jamaal Lascelles.
The 30-year-old has barely featured since Eddie Howe took over at St James’ Park but remains club captain despite first-team minutes being a rarity.
That is testament to Lascelles’ leadership skills, with the player still having plenty to offer on the pitch.
Due to those ahead of him being unavailable, Lascelles was brought in from the cold to start against PSG in Newcastle’s 4-1 win over the French side in the Champions League last season.
Tasked with keeping none other than Kylian Mbappe quiet, Lascelles put in a fine display and was lauded by former Magpies goalkeeper Shay Given who was working as a pundit for TNT Sports.
Given said: “Before the game we were a bit worried about Mbappe up against Lascelles.
“He [Lascelles] has never played in the Champions League.
‘He’s playing against a superstar in Kylian Mbappe and he was absolutely brilliant.”
Lascelles is likely to be available for a small fee and Cooper should be ready to pounce should Faes leave.
Leicester could eye Champions League finalist Ben Davies
Originally a left-back, Davis has shifted to centre-back as his career has gone on and could provide experience and leadership to a dressing room that desperately need it.
With 87 Wales caps and a Champions League final appearance for Spurs in their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in 2019, Davies knows what is required to be successful in the Premier League.
The fact he is left-footed helps too, especially if Cooper is to persist with the back three we saw against Fulham as Davies can play on the left of the centre-back trio.
Diego Carlos and Adam Webster both likely to be available should Leicester be interested
The fourth and fifth players are Diego Carlos and Adam Webster, who play for Aston Villa and Brighton respectively.
Both players are unlikely to be starters for their clubs this season, with Carlos snubbed by Unai Emery in both Villa fixtures this season; even when many expected him to come on to replace the injured Matty Cash against Arsenal with Ezri Konsa shifting to right-back.
Webster does not seem to feature heavily in new Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler’s plans, although he did come off the bench to replace Lewis Dunk on the opening weekend.
Carlos was close to a move to Fulham earlier this summer and Villa could still sanction his sale should they sign Lutsharel Geertruida, whilst the proposition of being a starter could well tempt Webster should Leicester make their move.