Leicester City are longing for some positive news in the transfer window after a lack of activity for the most part.
Woyo Coulibaly’s £3m transfer to Leicester from Parma remains the only deal Ruud van Nistelrooy has completed so far.
The Foxes’ situation at the bottom of the table – currently in 17th position – suggests this narrative has to change and the Leicester manager is confident it will.
Van Nistelrooy said Leicester are working on deals in Thursday’s press conference, with the hope that more players can bolster his squad.
The division’s fourth-lowest scorers inarguably need some firepower in the final third, something they could have resolved years ago.
Ollie Watkins was on Leicester City’s radar in 2020
Ollie Watkins may be one of the best finishers in Europe, establishing himself as a top striker under Unai Emery at Aston Villa.
However, his path towards the top could have taken a completely different direction if Leicester signed the Englishman in 2020.
The Foxes were rumoured to be interested in Watkins, via Leicestershire Live, after he fired 25 Championship goals during Brentford’s 2019/20 campaign.
Watkins was hot property at the time, hence why Brendan Rodgers wanted to sign him as an option alongside Jamie Vardy.
Their interest in the 29-year-old, of course, never went any further with Aston Villa sealing a £28m transfer for the goal machine.
Now, he’s established himself as a Champions League-level striker at Villa Park, becoming a goalscoring hero like Vardy is to Leicester.
How Ollie Watkins compares to Jamie Vardy in 2024/25
Interestingly, Arsenal have lodged a £60 million bid for Watkins in this transfer window but Emery is adamant that he stays.
Villa see Watkins as their master talisman which is comparable to how Vardy is viewed at the King Power Stadium, despite him recently turning 38.
The pair are enjoying a decent season in front of goal, too, with the below table showing how they compare across several attacking metrics.
| Premier League statistics | Ollie Watkins (24/25) | Jamie Vardy (2024/25) |
| Games | 23 | 21 |
| Goals | 10 | 7 |
| Assists | 5 | 3 |
| Big chances created | 4 | 4 |
| Shots per game | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Goal conversion | 17% | 18% |
With Van Nistelrooy looking for some added ammunition alongside Vardy, the Dutchman could only dream of owning someone like Watkins, who is entering the peak years of his career.