Report: Leicester City eye Nathan Ake and James Tarkowski to replace Harry Maguire

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Leicester City have two transfer targets in mind for when Harry Maguire leaves. According to Sky Sports News, Bournemouth star Nathan Ake and Burnley defender James Tarkowski are both on Leicester’s radar.

Maguire looks certain to leave Leicester in the final week of the transfer window. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed (via Sky Sports) that Manchester United are close to making their official announcement ahead of a reported £80m deal.

Armed with extra cash from the Maguire sale, Brendan Rodgers will be aiming to make a late swoop to replace the England defender. There are several options for the Foxes, including this Premier League pair.

Ake, who has starred for Bournemouth over the past two seasons, has been linked with an exit all summer. But Leicester will need to fend off interest from reigning champions Manchester City for the 24-year-old Holland international, according to The Mirror.

Tarkowski is an alternative option but Burnley do not want to sell their star man. The 26-year-old, who has represented England twice, is valued at around £40m. This report adds that Brighton’s Lewis Dunk, who has previously been linked with Leicester, is not an option.

TBR’s view

Maguire’s departure will leave Leicester one defender short and Rodgers has limited time to land his successor. The ideal candidate is someone with proven Premier League calibre and these two players fit the bill.

Rodgers currently has Filip Benkovic (injury prone and unproven in England), Jonny Evans, Wes Morgan (experienced but ageing) and Caglar Soyuncu (inexperienced) as his centre-half options. It is clear that Maguire’s exit would leave a major hole in the defence.

Leicester will have to pay over the odds to sign either player, especially as Bournemouth and Burnley will be plotting their own Europa League challenges. But both players would cost less than Maguire so it will be affordable for Leicester; they would make a profit and sign an impressive replacement.