Leicester City wanted ‘exciting’ striker in 2022, he’s now one of Europe’s best and worth £75m

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Leicester City recorded their first victory of the Premier League campaign before the international break.

A 1-0 victory over Bournemouth thanks to Facundo Buonanotte’s terrific goal handed Steve Cooper’s men their first three points of the season.

Leicester currently sit 15th in the Premier League table with six points, three above Crystal Palace who occupy the final relegation spot.

It’s not been the greatest start to the campaign for Leicester, with fans calling for Cooper to be dismissed, however, that win over the Cherries could be the catalyst for further victories as it’s Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town up next.

Cooper’s men haven’t struggled to score goals this term firing nine in seven but Jamie Vardy is the only striker to find the net with two, and that could have been completely different had they signed one player in 2022.

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Leicester City wanted to sign Lois Openda in 2022

Leicester were on the hunt for a new striker two seasons ago in an attempt to salvage their Premier League status.

This drew their attention towards Belgian sharpshooter Lois Openda, who was scoring goals for fun while at RC Lens.

The Foxes first showed an interest in Openda in September 2022, as per Leicestershire Live, with the club set to open talks over a deal in January.

However, a transfer never came to fruition as the exceptional striker was flying in France by the time the winter window rolled around while Leicester were fighting for their lives.

Openda ended the 2022/23 campaign with an impressive 21 goals in Ligue 1. Leicester, on the other hand, suffered relegation to the Championship and Kelechi Iheanacho was their top-scoring striker in the league with 5.

At the time, it was reported that a figure of £26 million would have been enough to prise the talented forward out of France, but it was RB Leipzig who eventually signed him for £36 million in the summer of 2023.

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How much Lois Openda is worth now

Since moving to the Bundesliga side, Openda has transformed into one of the most ‘exciting’ strikers in European football with his insane finishing reaching new heights.

Last season, the 24-year-old only finished behind Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy in the Bundesliga top scorer charts with 24 goals.

The brilliant Belgian has since carried that rich vein of form into 2024/25 with four in six appearances following a raft of top-level interest in the summer.

Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea have all eyed up moves for the striker, who is reportedly valued at £75 million, as per the Mirror.

It’s likely, however, that Leipzig could hold out for closer to £100 million if they were willing to listen to offers for the exceptional striker.

For Leicester, it’s a case of what could have been, as Openda could have saved them from relegation in 2022/23 and pocketed them a huge profit down the line.