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Leicester City’s biggest statement this summer will be holding onto Harry Maguire.
The central defender has been embroiled in a transfer saga that at the moment seemingly has no end. Last summer he was the subject of interest from Manchester United but their pursuit a year on hasn’t gone away, seeing a bid of £70m fall short of his valuation.
The Foxes have appeared determined to hold onto a player who appeared 31 times for them in the Premier League last season and it’s not a surprise to see why.
But there resistance may well be broken: a bid worth £80m from United has been accepted, according to The Sun.
This is a player who shone for England at the World Cup in 2018, winning 5.9 aerial duels per game.
Last summer was a colossal one for the 26-year-old but fast forward a year on and Brendan Rodgers’ men are making some huge moves.
What initially started as a quiet window has now sprung into life in devastating fashion.
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Their first sign of intent was to sign Ayoze Perez.
Rather out of nowhere he arrived for a fee of £30m, breaking their transfer record by £1m to bring in the Spaniard.
Their next considerable move was signing Youri Tielemans on a permanent basis for £40m, again beating their record just days after it had been broken.
However, it’s highly unlikely there will be too many concerns about the Belgian’s arrival.
After all, he’s already proven himself in the royal blue of Leicester, claiming three goals and four assists during his loan stay with the Midlands outfit in the second half of the 2018/19 season.
He is a mercurial talent who seemingly has the ability to simultaneously pop up with goals, remain a creative force and battle to recover possession.
Perez, on the other hand, offers more in the way of goals, netting 12 last term. He is, of course, a more attacking player but in paying £30m for him, they must remain careful.
Why? Because things haven’t always worked out when Leicester have paid big sums for attacking players.
Look no further than Islam Slimani and Kelechi Iheanacho. The former arrived for £29m whilst the latter came in for a fee of £25m.
And in short, that is £54m well and truly down the drain.
Before this transfer window, they were the club’s record transfers which, on the face of it, was rather unforgivable considering their returns.
Slimani has a slightly better record than the Nigerian, netting 13 times in 46 games but evidence of his slump lies within the fact he’s been shipped out on loan.
Iheanacho arrived as one of the best young forward’s in the division, scoring 21 in 64 despite being behind Sergio Aguero in the pecking order at Manchester City. However, his meteoric fall from grace saw him left out of Nigeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations after scoring just once last term.
It was a horrendous return from a player who cost so much.
So with that in mind, Leicester will be hoping and praying that Perez doesn’t end up on the same path.
The 25-year-old cost Newcastle just £1.5m when he initially arrived in England. His valuation now has risen considerably.
There’s no doubt that the Foxes will have been meticulous in their plans this summer and on reflection, Perez is arguably a stellar addition, despite the price.
Last season he was terrific, ending the term with six goals in his final five outings, providing plenty of evidence of his glowing quality.
But where Slimani and Iheanacho have failed, Leicester’s new arrival is perhaps better placed than the pair of them.
He arrives at the King Power with more experience in English football than Leicester’s pair of attacking flops, and that could prove crucial.
Perez has never been a player to really get excited about until recently.
Before 2018/19, he’d never scored more than eight in a single Premier League term, and his form tended to perpetually rise from tepid to tantalising throughout the season, lending Newcastle fans just a few months to really coo over the diminutive talent.
There is a reason to be wary, therefore, that this could be another expensive mistake.
But under the guidance of Rodgers he could flourish. Leicester play a direct counter-attacking style of play that plays upon Jamie Vardy’s core strengths, one which enabled him to finish the previous season with 18 strikes to his name.
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Perez, however, arrives with the ability to play in a number of positions and, for that reason, it’s unlikely he’ll fail in the way Iheanacho and Slimani did.
They are perhaps players who haven’t benefited the system.
Yet, their £30m Spanish signing has a history of establishing a potent partnership – take Salomon Rondon last season – and alongside Vardy that could be vitally important to whether he’s a hit.
Perez had the following to say about his relationship with the Venezuelan back in May: “We’ve got an amazing relationship. If he gets the chance to give me a goal, he’ll do it. And it’s the same the other way around.”
If the former Magpies man comes close to replicating that same sort of relationship with Leicester’s leading striker, it’s hard to see how he wouldn’t be a success.
It’s now over to him to prove he’s worth what the Foxes paid.