According to the Mirror (h/t Daily Mail), Leicester City have Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico on their radar as a replacement for Kasper Schmeichel.
The 26-year-old shot-stopper currently plies his trade with PSG, whom he joined on loan last summer. Despite very limited first-team action, Rico has still impressed with six clean sheets from 10 matches across all competitions for the French giants.
A first-choice keeper during his initial days with Sevilla, Rico lost his spot within the side owing to poor form in the 2017-18 La Liga campaign. He was soon shipped out on loan to Fulham the following summer. However, his time in England was not an entirely successful one that saw Sevilla send him out on loan once again last summer.
Unlike in England, Rico seems to have found his form back in France, excelling when given the opportunity. Also, despite his struggles in the past few seasons, Rico is an experienced customer, who has 38 clean sheets from 114 La Liga games for his parent club Sevilla.
The 33-year-old Kasper Schmeichel has been one of the key players for the Foxes in the past nine years and has won a Premier League title with them in the 2015-16 season.
One of the first names on the Foxes’ team sheet, Schmeichel was excellent this past season too, managing 13 clean sheets and helping them finish an impressive 5th in the league rankings. His consistent displays between the sticks have now grabbed the attention of rivals Manchester United, who are on the lookout for a new keeper following the poor form of their main man David de Gea.
With Schmeichel’s future with the Foxes remaining a question mark as of now, the club’s decision to find a replacement for him in the form of Rico makes complete sense.
Also, apart from Schmeichel, Leicester just have veteran Eldin Jakupovic and 27-year-old Danny Ward as back-up. However, the two of them are not established keepers like Schmeichel, with just a combined 13 appearances to their name.
Hence, Leicester City must continue their pursuit of Rico and bring him to the King Power Stadium as it looks like a safe bet at the moment.
It is evident that Leicester City lack an established goalkeeper in their ranks apart from Schmeichel. With Schmeichel’s future at the club remaining uncertain, it is wise to look for a replacement like Rico. The Spaniard is just 26 and still has plenty of football left in him. He would be an ideal successor of Schmeichel at Leicester City.
