It’s been a miserable campaign for Leicester City, spending most of it fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Premier League.
Leicester’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday condemned Ruud van Nistelrooy to his 10th defeat in just 13 league matches, despite his side producing a much-improved performance.
It means the Foxes are staring down the barrel at a likely relegation to the Championship unless there’s a drastic change in their form.
The loss against Arsenal saw Leicester join an unwanted Premier League club, becoming the first team since Norwich City in 2019/20 to lose five in a row without scoring in a single season.
Leicester’s attacking edge has been blunted after free-scoring in the Championship, although successfully signing one player would have altered their fortunes.
Leicester City tried to sign Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo in 2020
On Friday night, Leicester host Brentford in the Premier League. The Bees will pose tough opposition as they’re 11th in the table and fresh from beating West Ham United 1-0.
Leading their charge up the table is forward Bryan Mbeumo, who has plundered an impressive 14 goals this term, with only Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Chris Wood scoring more.
Mbeumo is the talisman in Thomas Frank’s side and has been since arriving from French side Troyes in the summer of 2019.
However, he could have formed a lethal partnership alongside Jamie Vardy if the Foxes persuaded him to switch to the King Power Stadium in 2020.
According to Foot Mercato, Brendan Rodgers was interested in signing the Cameroon international as he was convinced his powerful, fast and creative attributes were perfect for Leicester.
Of course, the transfer never materialised and Mbeumo fired Brentford to the Premier League alongside Ivan Toney in 2021, but the 25-year-old could now put a dent in Van Nistelrooy’s survival hopes.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 25 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 35 | 54 | -19 | 19 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 25 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 50 | -27 | 17 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 25 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 55 | -30 | 17 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 25 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 57 | -38 | 9 |
How Mbeumo’s goal record compares to Jamie Vardy
Now one of the Premier League’s most lethal forwards, it’s crazy to think how devastating a partnership of Vardy and Mbeumo would have been.
While Vardy is an instinctive finisher, whose pace and movement has caused havoc over the years, Mbeumo enjoys floating in from the right flank and utilising his explosive left foot.
Such a partnership was surely the recipe for success staring at Leicester, who have instead blown money over the years while Brentford’s talisman has skyrocketed to stardom.
| Vardy v Mbeumo | Jamie Vardy | Bryan Mbeumo |
| Games | 532 | 278 |
| Goals | 235 | 76 |
| Assists | 86 | 49 |
As delineated by the above table, Mbeumo has a long way to go before he comes close to reaching Vardy’s goal tally.
That being said, he has doubled the Englishman’s goal tally of seven this term, suggesting he’s reaching his peak while Vardy is on the decline.