Even without Jamie Vardy to fire them up the table, Leicester City are still performing wonderfully well again this season under Brendan Rodgers.
At the time of writing, the Foxes are sat in third place in the Premier League table, just two points behind Manchester United in second and five behind Manchester City at the top.
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The Foxes are playing an expansive, attacking brand of football which has long been Rodgers’ hallmark, and though they fell away at the back end of last season, Leicester seem well equipped to tackle the second half of the campaign.
The carrot of European football remains of course, but regardless of whether the Midlanders make it to either the Champions League or Europa League, the team will need strengthening in the summer.
To that end, former striker, Emile Heskey, has given his endorsement to one supposed target who could be available once the window reopens.
Sporting’s Joao Palhinha was linked with a move to Leicester in January, though it never materialised, and reports suggest that Rodgers would have to pay a club record fee in the region of £53m for the midfielder’s services.
“I think (Nampalys) Mendy has done well, coming in when (Wilfred) Ndidi has been injured,” Heskey told Here is The City, cited by Leicestershire Live.
“But Mendy is coming to an age (where it’s time for Leicester to think about the future). Brendan likes it quite young in midfield, he likes the energy and the legs.
“So I can see why (City would target Palhinha). But then you’ve still got Hamza Choudhury to come in.
“Though if you’re playing first-team football, like Wesley Fofana (during his time St Etienne), that’s what the manager wants – he wants first-team experience in there with youthful energy.
“So yeah I can see that being something the manager wants.”