Leicester City are set to bolster their attacking ranks even though Marti Cifuentes was unable to offer an update on a potential move for Michail Antonio.
Patson Daka is now on his way back to England after Zambia were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage.
A 3-0 loss to tournament hosts Morocco on Monday night saw them finish bottom of Group A with two points, ending up behind Comoros on goal difference.
Had the scoreline been limited to a 2-0 defeat, Zambia would have placed third in the group and stood a chance of progressing to the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.
Instead, Daka is now preparing for a return to Leicester. Featuring in the New Year’s Day trip to Sheffield United appears too soon, meaning he is more likely to be back in contention for the clash against West Brom on Monday, January 5.
That development will come as a timely lift for Cifuentes. The club are keen to reinforce their forward options, with free agent Antonio having trained at Seagrave in recent weeks, but there has been no movement on a deal.
Cifuentes has previously spoken favourably about Antonio, but when pressed for an update following Monday’s win over Derby, the manager replied: “There’s no news at the moment, sorry.”
During Daka’s absence, Cifuentes has deployed Jordan Ayew as his lead striker and then looked to Silko Thomas off the bench, despite the 21-year-old being more naturally suited to a wide role.
Julian Carranza’s outlook at the club appears increasingly uncertain, with the Feyenoord loanee having gone unused for 10 consecutive matches, Cifuentes opting against turning to the Argentinian even when City were chasing games.
When asked whether the club could terminate Carranza’s loan if it was deemed unproductive for either party, Cifuentes said: “This is a conversation with the club before we take any decision about it.”