Leicester City appear to have one position they are prioritising in the January transfer window.
The Foxes have conceded the joint-highest number of goals (42) in the Premier League this season, indicating where their problems lie.
Leicester are targeting centre-backs in the winter and a plethora of names have been linked with a move to the King Power Stadium.
With English clubs set to compete in a difficult market, Ruud van Nistelrooy may look overseas and is seemingly looking at the French leagues for a new central defender.
Leicester City to battle it out for on-loan Marseille defender Lilian Brassier
According to Foot Mercato, Leicester are preparing to do battle with La Liga side Villarreal to sign defender Lilian Brassier.
The 25-year-old is currently on-loan at Marseille from fellow Ligue 1 outfit Brest, where he has found game time hard to come by.
Brassier has played 10 times for the French giants this season but only clocked 185 minutes of action since October.
Van Nistelrooy may face a battle to convince him to make the move to England however, with Brassier reportedly keen to stay in his homeland while Leicester have also been linked with teammate Chancel Mbemba.
Comparing Lilian Brassier to Leicester City’s central defenders
In comparison to the other centre-back options already at Leicester, Brassier certainly looks more favourable.
Having played less games than everyone else, bar Conor Coady, Brassier actually comes on top in the majority of the stats.
| Player | Apps | Goals | Assists | Tackles per game | Clearances per game | Ground duels won | Aerial duels won |
| Lilian Brassier | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 (41%) | 1.6 (70%) |
| Jannik Vestergaard | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 1.9 (60%) | 1.5 (65%) |
| Caleb Okoli | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 | 4.5 | 2.2 (70%) | 1.2 (42%) |
| Conor Coady | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 1.0 (73%) | 1.0 (47%) |
| Wout Faes | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 1.8 (49%) | 1.7 (63%) |
Most notably, the 25-year-old’s best asset is winning aerial battles, with his 70% success rate blowing everyone out of the water, despite only standing at 6ft and one inches tall.
Marseille are currently second in Ligue 1, meaning that they have had considerably less defending to do but when called upon by Roberto De Zerbi, the on-loan defender appears to have stood up to the task.