Andrej Kramaric to Leicester: Latest Transfer Details, Reaction and More

Andrej Kramaric, the long-term target of Chelsea, has become a Leicester City player after finishing his deal.

Continue for updates.

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Kramaric Deal Officially Completed

Friday, Jan. 16

Leicester announced that Kramaric's deal was completed on Friday:

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Leicester City Football Club is delighted to confirm the signing of striker Andrej Kramarić, following the player’s successful application for a UK work permit.

Andrej completed the formalities of his move from HNK Rijeka today, signing a contract to June 2018, and will be available for selection this Saturday when Leicester host Stoke City in the Barclays Premier League. He will wear the squad no.40.

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Manager Nigel Pearson talked about the move in the announcement:

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City manager Nigel Pearson said: “We’ve watched Andrej for a long time so we knew we were signing a player that could add great quality to English football and I’m delighted that the relevant authorities have seen the situation the same way.

“He’s an extremely talented young footballer and I’m delighted we’ve been able to finalise his signing. He is potentially a very important addition for us.”

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Leicester Receive FA Endorsement for Work Permit

Thursday, Jan. 8

Leicester have announced that the FA has endorsed Andrej Kramaric's work permit application:

Previous, the club added official confirmation to news Kramaric is on the cusp of joining the Foxes:

Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett provides more details on the work permit:

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Sky Sports News HQ reporter Rob Dorsett writes: Sky sources suggest it's 50-50 whether or not Kramaric will be granted a visa allowing him to work in the UK. It's a very complicated, very political process, with no guarantee of success. For Kramaric, there are added complications.

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The Guardian pass along comments from Nigel Pearson, who is confident the club will obtain a work permit for Kramaric:

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We’ve a pretty strong case with his international status, his form – internationally and at club level – and the fact he’s represented Croatia at every level,” Pearson said. “It’s fair to say he has a very bright future and hopefully that will be taken into consideration.

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Kramaric Deal Confirmed by Rijeka

Wednesday, Jan. 7

HNK Rijeka have confirmed that Croatian forward Andrej Kramaric has moved to Leicester via their Twitter account on Wednesday:

The 23-year-old will sign for the Foxes for a yet-to-be-officially disclosed fee, although Goal.com's Liam Twomey reports that the deal is worth £7 million. Personal terms have also not yet been made available.

Kramaric signs up with Nigel Pearson’s team on the back of some impressive displays in the Croatian top flight, scoring 21 goals in 18 games for his club, per soccerway.com.

Those kinds of performances saw the striker named as the division’s finest player this season, as we can see here courtesy of CroatiaWeek:

He’s also been in red-hot form in the Europa League too, as noted here by WhoScored.com:

Here’s a look at a few reasons why Kramaric has been courted by the likes of Chelsea, who missed out on the player's signature:

Kramaric isn’t a player who is wet behind the ears, but his recent ascension means that he’s yet to get a taste of a top-class European league.

And given Leicester's fight to stay in the top flight, it’ll be intriguing to see exactly how the Croatian international fares in the long term.

Bleacher Report’s Croatian football expert Aleksandar Holiga had this to say earlier in the season about a player who seems to have pretty lofty ambitions:

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While he obviously is a lethal finisher, he is not what you would call a “typical” striker. Many of those goals came in games in which he played behind the centre-forward in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 formation. 

He is the kind of player who likes to drop back to take the ball, pull wide to create space for others or roam between the lines and run channels—in the aforementioned TV interview, he actually singled out both Lewandowski and Gotze for these characteristics and said that’s how he wants to play.

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Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

One of the key factors behind Kramaric’s recent rise is the amount of games he has playing for Rijeka in recent seasons, and if he’s to continue refining his game, getting minutes on the pitch is vital.

It remains to be seen how vital Kramaric will be to the Foxes' campaign to stay in the Premier League.