Reiss Nelson transfer truth and staff changes as winger demand revealed
Jordan Blackwell opens up his Leicester City notebook to take a look at what’s been happening on and off the field at the club
In the days since it was clear Juventus’s Matias Soule would be heading to Roma and not to the Premier League, Leicester City have been linked with a number of attacking players.
Among the most exciting is Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson. The 24-year-old has been a fringe player under Mikel Arteta but has delivered in key moments and may now be ready for a prominent role elsewhere in the Premier League.
However, right now, it seems Nelson’s future does not lie at City. Initial talks were held with Arsenal over the winger but sources at both clubs have said a deal is not currently advancing and that he would be out of City’s price bracket.
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As with Soule, West Ham are also said to have interest in Nelson, and there were reports of a £15m bid from the Hammers. Given City offered more than £20m for Soule, it does not feel that the transfer fee would therefore be an issue for them, but perhaps the wage demands are.
Right now, Nelson’s not close to a move anywhere. He’s currently in the US on Arsenal’s pre-season tour, starting their last friendly against Manchester United at the weekend.
Last Friday, Steve Cooper was asked specifically about a move for Nelson, a player he knows from his days working at England youth level. He was tight-lipped in his response.
He said: “I haven’t got any update on any player at the moment. I’d love to be standing here saying that we’re welcoming this player and we’re looking forward to working with him, but we’re just not in that position at the moment, so there’s no point in talking about any individuals.”
Staff changes at City
With one manager leaving and another arriving, there have been plenty of staff changes at City over the past couple of months. Just last week, Ben Dawson came in from Newcastle to become first-team coach.
And there have been more changes behind the scenes. Lead performance analyst Andy Blake has left this summer after 16 years at City, having first joined under Nigel Pearson and worked with the team as they rose from League One to Premier League champions. He’s now heading off to work at Catapult, who provide wearable technology and video analysis to aid clubs in assessing player performance.
