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.