Leicester City’s January objective is to bolster their forward line, and they may have found their man in GAIS striker Ibrahim Diabate, who recently finished top scorer in Sweden.
Leicester City may have found their striker with news of an agreement with Ivorian attacker Ibrahim Diabate.
City’s January transfer priority is to strengthen their attacking ranks, and they appear to be on the verge of doing so, with Swedish outlet Aftonbladet reporting that a deal has been agreed in principle between Diabate and his club GAIS.
The 26-year-old finished joint-top scorer in the Swedish first league in 2025, with 18 goals in 29 appearances.
GAIS planned to sell Diabate after such a successful season, and reports suggest that both a transfer and a loan-to-buy deal have been explored, with the Swedish club demanding £2 million.
According to reports, manager Marti Cifuentes will make the final decision on whether Diabate can make the step up to the Championship based on his experience managing in Sweden.
Sweden’s season runs through the summer and ends in November, with Diabate sharing the Golden Boot.
With 18 goals and five assists, he averaged a goal per 96 minutes for GAIS, who finished third, 18 points behind champions Mjallby.
It was Diabate’s best season to date. Moving to Europe at the age of 18, the striker began his career with Real Mallorca, but he only made one senior appearance for the Spanish club, largely playing for their B squad.
He was then signed by Vasteras in Sweden’s second division, where he helped them win promotion despite only scoring once in 20 Allsvenskan games.
Still, he impressed GAIS enough to be signed on a free transfer this time last year, where he blossomed into an efficient goal scorer.
Diabate appears to be quick and physical, but he also has a knack for finding space in the penalty area, since several of his GAIS goals have come from crosses.
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