Leicester City endured a nightmare end to the transfer window on deadline day.
The Foxes didn’t complete any deadline day transfers and watched their rivals around them strengthen their squads.
Foxes chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was spotted playing polo in Thailand on the same day in what was no doubt a frustrating thing for supporters to see.
Now that the window is closed, Ruud van Nistelrooy won’t be able to buy or loan any players but if he believes that his squad is in need of new faces, the list of free agents can’t be the worst market to delve into.
A plethora of options are available across all positions and with defence and attack clearly areas to bolster, Van Nistelrooy could do a lot worse than bringing some in.
With that, here are three free agents that Leicester City could target to get their season back on track.
Keita Balde
Leicester’s attack isn’t short of experience, that’s for certain. The Foxes’ had a combined age of 102 for their front three in the win against Tottenham Hotspur and also have the likes of Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, and Harry Winks among their ranks.
Keita Balde would be one of the older players in the squad aged 29 but having played in France and Italy for the bulk of his career, he would have no problems adjusting to England.
Balde has over 150 Serie A appearances for the likes of Lazio, Inter Milan and Sampdoria and had 31 goal contributions in 60 games for Monaco.
His versatility across the front line of the pitch means he can offer competition to Stephy Mavididi on the left and be a worthy replacement during Abdul Fatawu’s absence. He could also play up front if necessary.
Samu Castillejo
Like Balde, Samu Castillejo is another attacking midfield option who could represent a good short-term option.
Castillejo has played in Italy and Spain, appearing for AC Milan, Valencia and Villarreal and is by no means a proven goal scorer with 26 from 324 appearances, but can offer a lot.
As with any player who has been out of football since the summer, match fitness is going to be an issue but he could get up to speed quickly and offer Van Nistelrooy a mix of depth and knowhow at how to win games at the top level.
The 30-year-old can also play across the whole of the attacking midfield line too to add extra depth to the squad.
Nathan
A centre-back looked to be one of Leicester’s priorities in January and after the woeful performances from Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes against Everton, the urgency to bring one in stepped up.
Leicester had discussions with Wolves over a swap deal that involved Craig Dawson joining the Foxes and Conor Coady returning to Molineux, but it never materialised.
Nathan is a 29-year-old Brazilian centre-back who doesn’t have that much experience of European football having only played in the Swiss top flight but Leicester are desperate to stop conceding goals and it feels like anybody would be better than the current options available,
He recently left Seattle Sounders and although the MLS isn’t on the same level as the Premier League, the quality is still extremely high and he’d be more than capable of doing a job for Leicester.