Have Leicester City unearthed another diamond in CSKA Moscow’s Ahmed Musa?

Add as preferred source on Google

Much of the praise directed towards surprise champions Leicester last season was aimed at their incredible transfer activity. Their star players and core, the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and co. seemed to come from nowhere. Players who had never achieved much in football. The likes of whom had been picked up from reserve sides and lower leagues from all over the world.

After head of technical scouting Ben Wrigglesworth was poached by Arsenal in February, some fans feared for the future as the man credited with the signings of Vardy and Mahrez was taken. Others, like Gary Lineker, had no concerns, and instead credited assistant manager Steve Walsh with the finds. It seems that Walsh may have struck again with the signing of Nigerian striker Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow set to be completed this week.

Whilst almost unheard of in the UK, the pacey frontman has become a popular figure in Russia, with 13 goals and five assists in 30 league games for the club in the capital last season. With a conversion rate of 23% last season, behind only Jamie Vardy, he is a clear improvement on back up strikers Leonard Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki, who contributed 11 league goals and two league assists in 65 league games combined in 2015/16.

http://gty.im/457428480

With flexibility which allows him to play on either wing or behind another striker, Musa will bring new options to Claudio Ranieri in their defence for the title. With WhoScored actually giving him a higher average match rating, of 7.33 on the left wing and 7.61 on the right wing, compared to 7.03 down the middle, Musa could in fact provide an exciting alternative to Riyad Mahrez, or even be used alongside the Algerian international to provide balance along both flanks.

Musa was linked with them in January as Leicester fought for the title after a strong first half of the season, but has since been chased by a host of Premier League clubs, and some reports claim that he is set to turn down Everton, West Ham and Southampton in favour of a move to the champions, in order to maintain his status as a Champions League player which he has enjoyed over the past three years at CSKA Moscow.

The Nigerian international has scored three times in 18 games in UEFA’s elite competition. In fact, he has not missed a Champions League game since signing for the Russian side, and though they have failed to qualify from the group stage in his time there, has played against both Manchester clubs, as well as the likes of Bayern Munich and Roma.

Embed from Getty Images

Leicester’s search for a striker was common knowledge, after a failed pursuit of Watford’s Troy Deeney, and fans will be buoyed that the reported fee for Musa is around £18 million, a bargain for a striker with Champions League experience at 23 years old in comparison to the £30 million reportedly offered for Deeney. Whilst he may lack the aerial threat and strength that Deeney possesses, Musa is very much of the Leicester style as a player with pace who likes to dribble and cut inside on the counter attack.

Musa is undoubtedly a raw and young talent, but has experience which belies his age, with 11 international goals in 58 caps symbolic of that. In fact, this international experience will be one of Ranieri’s few frustrations with the deal should the club tie it up this week, in that Musa is likely to be missing to take part in the African Cup of Nations through January and February. With an exciting talent like Musa’s though, that is a price worth paying for Leicester City in their upcoming title defence.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Ekaterina Lokteva.