Dwight McNeil vs David Brooks: Who Leicester Should Be Prioritising in the Transfer Market

After a season of incredible promise, Leicester City's dreams of Champions League qualification unravelled on the final day.

It was a bitter blow, not just for the fans but also for the club as a whole. A seat at Europe's top table had the potential to be transformative for the Foxes, who continue to improve off the field by building a new training centre and expanding their global commercial activities.

On the pitch, improvement is clearly required if they are to have any hope of maintaining their fifth placed position next season. With a host of resurgent teams all dreaming of breaking up the Premier League's top six, Brendan Rodgers can ill afford any missteps in the transfer market.

Fortunately, Leicester's recruitment has - a few horror shows aside - been pretty exceptional in recent years. The arrivals of Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans have all turned out to be excellent pieces of business and the Foxes will be hoping this hot streak continues this summer.

The area in most pressing need of attention is out wide. The pairing of Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez, which was so fruitful during the first half of the season, stagnated after Christmas and rotation option Demarai Gray showed little evidence of being anything more than a useful impact sub.

Perez recorded eight goals (three of which came during the 9-0 mauling of Southampton) and four assists last season, while Barnes managed six goals and eight assists. Rodgers has publicly stated his desire for a greater spread of goal involvements to lessen the burden on the talismanic Jamie Vardy.

Dwight McNeil and David Brooks are two names that have been mentioned to solve this dearth of goals and creativity out wide. The Foxes' interest in the pair is genuine but which one would fit best at the King Power Stadium?

McNeil is a throwback left winger from the bygone era of 4-4-2s, target men and hundreds of crosses per game. Ah, simpler times, ay? He's hard working, excellent at beating his man and blessed with pinpoint crossing accuracy.

Brooks on the other hand is more versatile, operating in an advanced right position or just behind the striker. He's also left footed but spends little time on that side, preferring to cut in and pass or shoot.

Both players enjoyed breakthrough years during the 2018/19 season and with Brooks missing the majority of last campaign with injury, this is the best yardstick we possess to compare the two players fairly. During that particular year, Brooks managed seven goals and five assists, much to the delight of thrifty Fantasy Premier League players everywhere.

Some of his strikes were sublime as well and Brooks won plenty of admirers with his fancy footwork and clever tricks. His absence last season is a big reason why Bournemouth faltered in their fight for survival.

McNeil also performed well in the 2018/19 season, racking up eight goal involvements - the exact same figure he finished with last campaign. Not as impressive as Brooks, but in the Englishman's defence, he gets through a lot more defensive work and has never been afforded the same sort of attacking freedom.

One area that McNeil enjoys a slight advantage is his ability to drive the team forward. In 2018/2019 he registered 153 progressive yards per 90 minutes - around 20 yards more than Brooks managed.

McNeil also enjoyed a lead in several defensive metrics such as successful pressures and tackles - though admittedly not by very much. Rodgers' famed high press is key to Leicester's philosophy and judging by these stats both players could adapt easily but the Clarets man would probably be better prepared for his Foxes defensive duties.

McNeil has also been more creative during his Premier League career. Although Brooks enjoyed a marginal advantage in shot creating actions per 90 minutes during the pair's breakout campaign (2.51, compared to 2.43), his counterpart bumped up his numbers to 2.75 this time out. Not earth shatteringly incredible numbers for sure, but still the second most of any Burnley player.

The source of McNeil's creativity largely comes from his pinpoint crossing ability and with Vardy to feed, who's to say these numbers would not increase even more playing after moving to the east Midlands?

Overall, there is very little to choose between the two players. What is likely to be the decisive factor is the transfer fees that each will demand. Sean Dyche warned gravelly that anyone wanting to prise his star asset away - who has three years left on his current deal - would need a "war chest".

Dyche's warning shot probably means that Leicester would at least have to pay more than the £25m Burnley let Michael Keane leave for in 2017 - the Clarets' all time highest sale. Although McNeil is young and English, anything in excess of £35m in the current market may be a shade too much for a player of his current ability.

However, Burnley showing their reluctance to push on as a club by letting Jeff Hendrick walk after refusing to buckle to the Irishman's modest wage demands will give Leicester hope of securing a good value deal.

Brooks, meanwhile, has similarly been the subject of a hands off warning. Soon after being appointed as Cherries boss, Jason Tindall indicated that people should not expect his star assets to be sold.

Despite Tindall's bold claims, Nathan Ake's big money departure to Manchester City has already set a precedent and a bloated wage bill could convince a club who made a substantial financial loss last year to cash in.

Despite this, Leicester should still prioritise McNeil. At just 20 years old he is already a pivotal player in a Premier League side that finished just two points shy of Arsenal last season. He has a tireless work ethic, is surprisingly creative and would slot in well to the Rodgers' system. Better get that war chest ready, Leicester.