Leicester City appear to be edging closer to their first signing of the transfer window this winter.
Reports have claimed that the Foxes are close to signing Woyo Coulibaly from Parma in a deal estimated to be around the £3m.
Coulibaly was left out of Parma’s squad for their defeat to Genoa on Sunday and the 25-year-old has been linked with Leicester for some time.
The 25-year-old can operate on either side in the full-back position and is seen as ideal competition for James Justin, who has frustrated Leicester fans this season.
It comes as welcome news for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has seen other full-back targets decide to go elsewhere.
Max Aarons looks to be heading to Valencia on a loan deal until the end of the season after falling out of favour at Bournemouth and the Foxes are set to battle Brentford for Matt Targett.
Another full-back option was also on Leicester’s radar, but it seemed that he is considered too pricey for Leicester.
Leicester transfer news: Leicester not prepared to pay Southampton’s asking price for Kyle Walker-Peters
Kyle Walker-Peters was mentioned as a possibility for Leicester earlier in the January transfer window.
Walker-Peters is yet to sign a new contract at Southampton and with his deal due to expire at the end of the season, is available to sign a pre-contract deal with clubs outside of England.
He is a first team regular at Southampton with plenty of Premier League experience, and can even play as a left-back, which appealed to Leicester.
But, according to Alex Crook of TalkSPORT, the Saints wanted a deal in the region of £7m for the England international, which has put the Foxes off.
Leicester are looking for cheap full-back options this month and a possible Coulibaly deal for £3m certainly fits that criteria.
Kyle Walker-Peters vs Woyo Coulibaly H2H stats comparisons
Full-backs are desperately needed at the King Power Stadium, with a lack of competition and sub-par performances a key part of Leicester’s struggles this season.
Coulibaly and Walker-Peters are by no means world class talents, but they could certainly improve the Foxes, however, who is better suited?
| Stats | Kyle Walker-Peters | Woyo Coulibaly |
| Apps | 18 | 14 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Assists | 2 | 1 |
| Tackles per game | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Ground duels won | 48% | 47.1% |
| Aerial duels won | 33.3% | 50% |
| Average rating | 6.78 | 6.60 |
Walker-Peters triumphs in almost every area, but if truth be told, there is very little difference between the pair.
The most notable strength in Coulibaly’s game compared to the Englishman is his ability to win aerial duels, coming out on top in half of those this season.
At a lower fee too, it seems that the Foxes have made a good decision to go with the French 25-year-old to bolster their squad.