Leicester City need a strong January transfer window to pull away from danger and achieve Premier League survival.
The transfer window opens in a matter of days and arguably the most important area Ruud van Nistelrooy needs to improve is defence.
Leicester are assessing several defensive targets ahead of January, including a possible return for Manchester United’s Harry Maguire.
The Foxes have also been linked to Valentin Gomez, the Velez Sarsfield defender who has been compared to Argentine stalwart Nicolas Otamendi.
Maguire and Gomez aren’t the only two players touted with a move to the King Power Stadium, as another ex-Premier League star is reportedly on their radar.
Leicester City want former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba
According to Africa Foot, Leicester have placed Marseille centre-back Chancel Mbemba on their list of priorities heading into the January transfer window.
Mbemba, who is on the verge of leaving Marseille, has already seen the French side reject approaches from fellow Ligue 1 clubs, Stade Rennais and FC Nantes.
The 30-year-old sees his contract in France expire in June 2025 and the DR Congo international is yet to feature in 2024/25.
Indeed, Mbemba has fallen down the pecking order after playing 40 times in all competitions last term and even scoring six goals, including four in the Europa League where they lost to Atalanta in the semi-finals.
Many Leicester fans will perhaps remember Mbemba from his time in the Premier League. The 85-cap international played 59 times for Newcastle after signing in 2015 before moving on to Porto in 2018.
Now, the towering defender could help van Nistelrooy in the fight for survival by fixing one of his major problems.
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Leicester have the Premier League’s joint-worst defence
It’s become clear that van Nistelrooy needs to sign a game-changing presence at the back to retain their Premier League status.
The Dutchman hasn’t had a settled backline as he’s chopped and changed between his current options; Wout Faes, Caleb Okoli, Jannik Vestergaard and Conor Coady, with neither truly cementing their place.
Mbemba, who was previously dubbed ‘formidable’, could be the answer to one of their issues as they’re currently the joint-worst defence in the league with 40 goals conceded.
| Team | Goals conceded |
| Leicester City | 40 |
| Wolves | 40 |
| Southampton | 37 |
| Ipswich | 33 |
| Brentford | 32 |
Alarmingly, while Wolves have kept clean sheets in the last two, including against the Foxes, van Nistelrooy’s men have shipped six goals.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 40 | -11 | 15 |
| 18 |  LeicesterLeicester | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 40 | -18 | 14 |
| 19 |  IpswichIpswich | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 33 | -17 | 12 |
So, with that said, providing defensive cover in the shape of Mbemba and perhaps offloading Faes, could be the key to staying up this term.