Jon Rudkin has failed to deliver for Leicester City time and time again but has a chance to do something positive for the club in the free-agent market.
Leicester City endured one of the worst January transfer windows seen at the King Power Stadium in recent memory.
Ruud van Nistelrooy wanted four players added to his squad after he opted to replace Steve Cooper in the dugout.
However, after many links and a lot of disappointment, when the deadline arrived on February 3rd, the Midlands outfit had made just a single signing.
It leaves the Dutchman in a very tough position as his squad just isn’t good enough to be competing in the Premier League.
Leicester are currently 18th, two points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers who were the second-biggest spenders in the English top flight last month.
If Van Nistelrooy and co. are to stand any chance of competing, they will now have to look toward the free-agent market.
Leicester City could sign free agent once compared to Kylian Mbappe
During the proper transfer window, Van Nistelrooy wanted a full-back, centre-back, centre-forward and winger brought in.
Woyo Coulibably filled the full-back role and there is a free agent available who could be signed to cover for the injured Abdul Fatawu.
The man in question is Keita Balde, who has been without a club since leaving Turkish outfit Sivasspor on January 1st.
The 29-year-old has made 352 career appearances, in which he has scored 82 goals and provided 47 assists.
Balde began his career with FC Barcelona before earning a big-money move to AS Monaco in 2017.
He arrived shortly after Kylian Mbappe departed for Paris Saint-Germain and discussed comparisons to the Frenchman back in October 2017, as per The Gurdian.
Balde said on the comparisons: “I was expecting it. We’re both young players. But I’ve come to write my story, to play my game. I don’t want to be compared with anyone. My goal is to play as many matches as possible, to score and provide.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy comments on transfers
After a lack of backing in the market over the winter, Leicester owners feared Van Nistelrooy could quit.
Meanwhile, anger toward Jon Rudkin has continued to grow among the fanbase in the last few months.
Despite the club’s dire state, however, Van Nistelrooy was asked about leaving Leicester this week amid poor recruitment and gave an interesting response.
He said: “Not at all, because when you’re part of the conversations and you are informed on a regular basis how things are going, then things are not a surprise. I don’t have to be considering these things.”