Wrexham battle Leicester City for the January signing of in-form Golden Boot-winning striker, Ibrahim Diabate.
Wrexham’s fascination with adding attacking depth to their roster has been the only constant throughout their January window. Being touted to bid for multiple forwards, the club’s interest will only skyrocket after the latest Norwich defeat.
While it was a collective sloppy show against the Canaries, stats detail a loss as an attack failure. Despite accumulating an xG of more than twice that of Norwich, Wrexham’s forward line failed to seal the show.
Taking nothing away from Sam Smith(who’s moved to 3 goals in 3 games), the 27-year-old would acknowledge he could’ve buried the game within the first half. Surprisingly, this time, Wrexham didn’t even have the backing of Kieffer Moore as he looked out of game rhythm.
On a chance big Kieff can finish any day, the Welshman couldn’t even make contact as he missed a golden opportunity to equalise. Though he later teed up Rodriguez for a volley, the shot went missing over the goal.
Even apart from the Norwich game, Wrexham’s management needs to realise a future ahead of 36-year-old Rodriguez. Here’s where the club’s latest links help in with an in-form striker up for grabs.
Wrexham setup Leicester battle before Championship clash
As per SportBladet reports, both Wrexham and Leicester rival each other in Gais’ striker, Ibrahim Diabate’s deal. Having netted 18 goals while bagging the Allsvenskan Golden Boot, Diabate is among the rare hot-form recruits who can join in January for a reasonable transfer fee.
To Wrexham’s disadvantage, the Foxes currently lie as the favourites to strike Diabate’s transfer. Given the club’s agreement with the striker’s entourage, a yes from Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes can seal the move.
Unequivocally, the power share stands with the Foxes, but Wrexham need to hijack the deal right in.
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Having seen the disappointing result against Norwich after being urged to go after Josh Sargent, the Dragons can’t afford to replicate their mistake. Especially, when a transfer win can be the first step towards establishing authority against Leicester on the field next.
There’s no denying that even if Wrexham secure Diabate’s signature, they won’t be able to get him match fit against the Foxes. But it can give them a psychological upper hand for sneaking in a transfer under their nose.
Notably, Wrexham’s last encounter against Leicester ended in a 1-1 tie. Given the dreaded promotion run, even the slightest of moves would factor in, let alone winning Diabate’s transfer jackpot.
Wrexham needs to upgrade attack force for promotion push
Having outscored their xGs multiple times in the last weeks, a first-time slump against Norwich doesn’t make Wrexham’s attack poor. However, careful observation shows that the Dragons have had an insufficient attack depth for most of the season.
In the first half of the season, with Kieffer Moore being the main attacking player in charge, Sam Smith’s role stood too limited. With Smith barely getting game time, he had just one goal contribution until Moore’s injury.
Effectively, Big Kieff’s hamstring has just overturned the power dynamics. While Smith is in red-hot form, the absence of a striking partner to complement him is still felt until Moore completely picks up the rhythm.
Again, options like Jay Rodriguez are present, but expecting him to cover up for the role while being 36 feels unfair. This circles back to Wrexham’s desire to bring in an attacking recruit like Diabate, who could complement the attack when needed.
Considering the scenarios prevalent at Wrexham, the Dragons ought to make a serious try to bring in Ibrahim Diabate. Even if he comes as a backup in the current setup, the 26-year-old can spearhead the club’s attack down the line.
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