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It probably isn’t a great surprise to see Leicester in danger of losing one of their star men.
After all, in recent years their supporters have seen the likes of N’Golo Kante, Danny Drinkwater and Riyad Mahrez all depart.
However, they could now see their Player of the Season, Ricardo Pereira, leave for pastures new too.
Calciomercato claim that Juventus are eyeing the right back with a view to making him their Joao Cancelo replacement, and The Sun have followed up by stating that the Portuguese is keen on the move.
Pereira has only been with the Foxes for just over a year. He arrived from Porto last summer and took to the Premier League like a duck to water, claiming an assist in just his third game.
The Portuguese full-back displayed phenomenal traits at both ends of the pitch, improving defensively as the season went on whilst providing a constant threat in the final third. He came within one goal contribution of reaching ten in 2018/19.
He went onto play 35 times in the Premier League, so can the Foxes afford to part ways with him? Football FanCast writers have given their thoughts on the matter below…
James Beavis
“I personally always feel that full-backs are usually easily replaceable for any club, but it is a bit of a different story for Leicester City and Pereira. The 25-year-old established himself as one of the best in that position in the Premier League –only Wilfred Ndidi, Idrissa Gueye and Aaron Wan-Bissaka made more tackles than his tally of 118 for the Foxes in 2018/19. He also provided seven assists in 35 top-flight outings to help him win both the club’s Player and Players’ Player of the Season awards.
“Given he is also able to play further forward on the right wing too, seeing him leave would be a monumental loss for Brendan Rodgers considering the form he has been in and his versatility. Leicester need to say a big fat no to Juventus, then.”
Charles Jones
“It really depends on whether Leicester are approached with a massive offer. The attacking full-back was fantastic last term at the King Power Stadium, and they would find it very tough to replace him with somebody of the same calibre in that spot. His two goals and seven assists indicate how much of an attacking threat he can be, and in the modern game full-backs of that ilk are worth their weight in gold. Unless a ridiculous bid comes in they should do everything they can to keep hold of him because they will certainly struggle to find anyone better than him to replace the 25-year-old.”
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Harry Sherlock
“Pereira is perhaps the best right-back outside of the top six in the Premier League. He’s a threat going forward – he scored two goals and registered seven assists for the Foxes this season – and defensively, he’s incredible. An average of 3.4 tackles per game is excellent, as are his three clearances, 1.7 interceptions and 1.9 dribbles. It is difficult to see Leicester being able to adequately replace him if he does depart – world-class right-backs don’t grow on trees, particularly for a club that doesn’t play in the Champions League – but one can understand why Juventus are interested. The Foxes had better hope he doesn’t have his head turned because he would be a considerable loss.”