Sheffield United, West Brom and Norwich City facing Leicester City transfer delay as EFL kick-off looms | OneFootball

Jamie Vardy's injury is stopping the Foxes sending Tom Cannon out on loan to the second tier

Highlights

A host of Championship sides are playing a waiting game to sign Leicester City frontman Tom Cannon ahead of the new season due to Foxes boss Steve Cooper's current striker woes.

That woe is Jamie Vardy's unavailability, which leaves a host of EFL sides waiting for the green-light to truly formalise their interest in Cannon.

Tom Cannon transfer latest

That is according to transfer journalist Alan Nixon, via Patreon, who reports that Sheffield United, West Brom and Norwich City are all keen on bringing in the 21-year-old for the campaign, but face a snag due to Jamie Vardy’s injury stopping Leicester from sending him out on loan.

Veteran Vardy remains in a race to be fully fit for the start of the new season, and could still miss another three weeks after picking up a knock in the Foxes' pre-season opener against Villarreal, which leaves Cannon as one of only a couple of available forwards at Cooper's disposal.

As a result, any potential move for the Republic of Ireland international looks set to take place in the closing stages of the transfer window, rather than before the EFL season, which kicks-off next weekend.

Nixon's report also states that Stoke City, who had been previously mooted with an interest in Cannon by The Telegraph, have dropped out of the race for his signature, while Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United remain in the hunt, but are behind the aforementioned trio.

Cannon is a top second-tier striker

Cannon would be an ideal signing for any Championship side looking to add firepower to their striking ranks this summer, but the interested clubs will seemingly have to wait it out until a few games into the new campaign to see him potentially join.

The Telegraph's report earlier in the summer revealed that new Foxes boss Cooper was set to give him a chance to impress in pre-season before any decision was made on his immediate future, and while he may well have done enough to force himself into his Premier League plans, it seems as if the Welshman has little choice to keep him for now, with just him and Patson Daka as his current senior striking options.

Despite joining on a five-year deal for around £7.5 million from boyhood club Everton last September, the Irishman was limited to just 13 league appearances for Leicester in 2023/24, as they pipped Ipswich Town to the Championship title under Enzo Maresca.

Cannon experienced his first taste of second-tier football when he joined Preston North End on loan for the second-half of the 2022/23 season while with the Toffees, and he impressed in his six months at Deepdale as he registered eight goals and one assist in 20 games as Ryan Lowe's side just missed out on a play-off spot.

Based off that spell, it is clear to see why numerous Championship clubs are wanting to bring him back to the division for the new season, but they will have to hold out for another few weeks as a decision is made.

The wait for Cannon may put teams off

While the Foxes hold off over the 21-year-old's immediate future, the wait could dispel those interested sides from wanting to sign him, and encourage them to move on to other loan targets.

The managers of the keen sides will likely have wanted a striker like Cannon, who will surely be first-choice at any club he joins, to enter the building prior to the start of the season, to give him the best chance of building up relationships with his new teammates and an understanding of what is expected of him on the pitch.

Instead, they are now playing a waiting game, and with the new season just a week away, may find themselves searching elsewhere and then coming back to the 21-year-old later in the month if he is still a Leicester player, and they have not found anyone else to bring in.

Norwich look set to allow Adam Idah a move back to Scottish champions Celtic before the new season starts, according to the Scottish Sun, and Nixon's report suggests that Cannon will be a replacement for his countryman if he joins the Canaries, but the time scales now do not match up, and they will have just two strikers in the opening weeks of the season if they continue to only target Cannon.

With that said, while he will surely want to seize his chance in the top-flight if given a chance in the opening weeks of the season, the 21-year-old will hope that a potential move being delayed does not mean he struggles to secure a loan exit in the dying embers of the window.