Rating every Leicester City summer signing: #9: Tom Cannon
The signing that launched a thousand gifs. In the dying hours of the transfer window, Leicester sent for the artillery.
How do our writers rate Tom Cannon, the last of the summer signings?
Iain Wright: 8
I'm really pleased with this signing. We needed a striker urgently, with Jamie Vardy no longer a starter, less than a year left on Kelechi Iheanacho’s contract, and Patson Daka no longer in the picture; so I think Cannon will get a lot of game time. We'll also lose Iheanacho (and Daka) to the AfCON in January so he is definitely a welcome addition to the team.
He had a good scoring record on loan at Preston and looks like he'll add a bit of physical presence to the forward line. We've targeted this type of signing (young, high ceiling, potential bargain)a lot this summer, but like most of the other signings he's far from the finished article. This means he needs patience from the fans in the stadium and absolutely doesn't need 'that bloke' shouting shoooooot every time he gets into the opposition half.
However, as pleased as I am about this signing; didn't we spend £100m on Seagrave creating "World Class Facilities" to develop our own young players? Why haven't we produced a striker capable of playing at Championship level or above since Emile Heskey almost 30 years ago? It's a question (or indeed an internal enquiry!) for another day. Regardless, I'm delighted with all the young players we've added, in addition to our homegrown ones and excited about how they'll develop under Enzo.
Chris Iliffe: 7.5
We’ve been needing a different striker for a while now and I really like the look of Cannon. After watching the usual clips on YouTube he looks like he’s got bags of potential and he clearly impressed at Preston last season. He knows the league and I think he’ll be a good acquisition.
His highlights give me Tony Cottee vibes. He seems like he finds the right positions and has a knack for knowing how to stick the ball in the net - with no fuss. I’m also impressed by his confidence and his desire to get stuck in. All in all, it’s a signing who can hopefully help us to actually take the numerous chances we are creating.
Jamie Barnard: 9
For me the best barometer of whether a signing is a good one is the reaction of his previous club’s fans and, scrolling through the responses to Everton’s announcement, there was clear disappointment at his departure. When I think of previous signings there have been some where the selling club’s fans have not been too bothered to lose the player and we’ve subsequently seen why!
A lot of us were asking for young players who could grow with the club and have big future resale value and Cannon fits the mould. We’ve lost our most sellable assets this summer and, with another big chunk of the squad out of contract next year, long-term we’re going to need to have found some players that can bring in decent fees to generate the funds to keep replacing those walking out of the door.
Finally, I couldn’t help but think we’d found a David Nugent regen when watching his goals for Preston. There were a variety of finishes in there and he looks like the kind of striker that won’t be reliant on one type of goal. We’re going to need that as we look to break down sides who sit in and defend against us this season.
Matt Jedruch: 8.5
Another relatively unproven young player through the door, this time with homegrown status which is always helpful.
Cannon was hovering around the Everton first-team set up last season before his loan to Preston and although this may have been primarily due to injuries and bad signings, it is still a good sign that he was being considered in the Premier League at 19. The subsequent loan was very successful and it's promising to hear that PNE were keen to sign Cannon permanently before Leicester snuck in.
From what I've watched and read, Cannon's outstanding trait is his composure and finishing ability, and it does seem like he's capable of scoring all types of goals. He's good in the air, great with his weaker left foot, and can score from outside the box. Cannon's introductory interview with Leicester hinted that he's been working on developing his all round game, and from the few clips I've seen it looks like he should have the qualities to be a very good all round striker, hopefully capable of prospering in Maresca's system.
Maresca has seemed reluctant to have more than one striker on the pitch at any time this season, so hopefully there is a re-think over the international break, with our strikers struggling to make any real impact so far. As mentioned on the latest BSLB podcast, this could mean moving Iheanacho into a hybrid second striker role instead of one of the midfield 8's, which would mean more minutes for Cannon.
The initial £6m fee seems like very good business all things considered. I just hope Cannon gets enough opportunities to show his qualities.
Average rating: 8.25
NOW READ: Rating every Leicester City summer signing
