Leicester City need a new striker for the 2026/27 season in League One and last season’s top-scorer makes the perfect sense
Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard was the League One top-scorer last season(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Leicester City are in the market for a new striker to lead them through League One next season and they can’t afford to get it wrong.
Jamie Vardy’s status as a club legend throughout the past decade meant any centre-forward that came to Leicester was forced to play second fiddle. Islam Slimani, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Patson Daka and Tom Cannon all arrived and played behind the Sheffield-born.
Last summer, when Vardy said goodbye, the task of replacing Vardy was left unfulfilled. Jordan Ayew’s reputation among Leicester fans never recovered, Patson Daka’s string of inconsistency continued and Julian Carranza’s loan from Feyenoord ended early.
Both Ayew and Daka scored just six goals across all competitions and next month, they will leave at the end of their contracts. The only natural striker on the books, with first-team experience, is Jake Evans.
The teenager scored two goals in 16 League One games last season for Northampton Town. Next season, with the Foxes now in the third division, he is expected to be given a fair shot in the squad.
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But Leicester are almost expected to bring in a more ‘senior’ striker to the King Power Stadium. One player that must be on their radar is Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard.
The 21-year-old scored 23 league goals for Richie Wellens’ side last season, despite them finishing 20th and surviving relegation on the final day. Across the campaign, he netted three hat-tricks and scored a range of goals.
Ballard came through the highly-rated academy at Southampton before plying his trade in the EFL on loan at Reading, Blackpool and Cambridge United. He moved to Orient last summer and quickly proved himself to be one of Wellens’ key players.
In the end of season awards, he picked up four awards, including Manager’s Player of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. His goal at Cardiff City also meant he won Goal of the Season.
Topping the goalscoring charts across the whole division, Ballard finished joint-top goalscorer in the EFL with Swansea City striker Zan Vipotnik.
Interest in him is already building with Wrexham reportedly considering a move for him when the transfer window opens. Orient boss Wellens has already admitted the club may face difficulty in keeping him.
“Do we want to keep him? Absolutely,” he said. “But then if someone comes in with a figure that is acceptable to David [Gandler, majority shareholder] and Nigel [Travis, chairman], then we will have to see.”
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