Leicester City have signed goalkeeper Dai Cornell on a one-year deal, bringing the 35-year-old Welshman to the King Power Stadium as emergency cover following a serious injury to first-choice stopper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Why Cornell, why now
Stolarczyk suffered a season-ending knee injury in early September, leaving Russell Martin short of experienced options between the posts. Cornell, who was a free agent after leaving Preston North End in the summer despite being offered a new contract, drops into the third tier to bolster the squad at a club chasing an immediate return up the divisions.
Cornell had spent four years at Preston, making 23 appearances for the Lancashire club. He arrives at Leicester as their eleventh professional club, having previously represented Swansea City, St Mirren, Portsmouth, Oldham Athletic, Northampton Town and Peterborough United across a career that has spanned two decades.
Martin: more than just a goalkeeper
Martin was quick to underline that Cornell's contribution will extend well beyond shot-stopping. "He understands the role he is going to fulfil here, but he also backs himself to show what a good goalkeeper he is," the Leicester manager told BBC Radio Leicester. "But first and foremost, he is a brilliant character and really adds to the character, voice and experience in this squad."
Cornell himself said he is keen to "help in any way" he can at the Foxes, a phrase that speaks to a player arriving with a clear-eyed understanding of the situation rather than any illusions about his immediate starting prospects.
The goalkeeper picture at Leicester
Former Southampton stopper Alex McCarthy has been Martin's most-used goalkeeper so far this season. Argentine Franco Ravizzoli, who joined from Blackpool over the summer, has occupied the bench since Stolarczyk was ruled out. Cornell's arrival gives Leicester three senior options in that position and adds a layer of experience that Martin clearly values as the League One campaign builds momentum.
The Foxes entered the season as one of the division's most watched clubs, and the pressure to perform consistently is significant. Losing a starting goalkeeper to a season-ending injury so early in the campaign threatened to destabilise the squad; Martin has moved quickly to ensure it does not.
Cornell's perspective
At 35, Cornell brings something that cannot be manufactured: the know-how of a goalkeeper who has operated at multiple levels of the Football League and in Scotland. His time at Preston came in the Championship, and before that he accumulated minutes at clubs across League One and League Two. That breadth of experience, Martin appears to believe, will serve Leicester well both on the training pitch and in the dressing room.
The signing is unspectacular by design. This is a club that knows where it wants to go, and Cornell has been recruited to help keep that path as smooth as possible while Stolarczyk works through his rehabilitation.
Frequently asked
- Why have Leicester City signed Dai Cornell?
- Leicester signed Cornell to cover for goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in early September. Cornell joined on a one-year deal as a free agent after leaving Preston North End.
- Which clubs has Dai Cornell played for?
- Cornell has played for Swansea City, St Mirren, Portsmouth, Oldham Athletic, Northampton Town, Peterborough United and Preston North End, among others. Leicester are the eleventh club of his professional career.
- Who are Leicester City's goalkeepers this season?
- Alex McCarthy has been Leicester's most-used goalkeeper this season. Franco Ravizzoli has been on the bench, and Dai Cornell has now joined as additional cover following Stolarczyk's injury.