Leicester City have made an approach to sign Lyndon Dykes for the 2026/27 campaign, adding fresh pressure to a transfer picture that is already moving fast around the Scotland striker. Dykes is due to be out of contract at Charlton next month, and he is now weighing up his next move with interest also building elsewhere.
The 30-year-old is heading toward the North America World Cup tournament with Scotland without a club, making the next few weeks unusually important for a player who has barely had time to settle since leaving Birmingham City. He joined Charlton in January after limited opportunities there, then scored three times in the run-in and even found the net in late January when Charlton beat Leicester 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.
That form is part of why he is back on the market. Dykes has scored 10 goals for Scotland, and his return to form at Charlton has prompted more than one club to look again. Leicester had already explored a January move for him before he eventually joined Charlton, while Millwall are also understood to be keen on a player who can offer a direct presence at centre forward.
Charlton have put an extension offer on the table, so Dykes is not choosing between one obvious route and a blank page. He is deciding whether to stay where he has just found some scoring touch, take Leicester’s interest in hand for a move later in the 2026/27 cycle, or listen to rival approaches that could yet change the shape of the race. For a striker whose next appearance on the biggest stage will come before he has a club, the choice now carries more weight than a normal summer decision.
Leicester’s interest comes as the club prepares to rebuild up front after confirming that Patson Daka and Jordan Ayew will leave when their contracts expire. Jake Evans is the only senior out-and-out striker left in the squad, which explains why the need for reinforcements is so obvious even before the club decides who will manage them in League One. Gary Rowett oversaw the run-in on a short-term deal after replacing Marti Cifuentes, but Leicester have yet to say whether he will stay.
That uncertainty matters because it slows everything else. Leicester want a new centre forward, but recruitment is expected to wait until the managerial picture is clear, leaving the club’s search suspended while Dykes and his advisers assess the options in front of them. If Leicester do follow through, they will be competing for a player who has already proved he can score against them, for his country and at a time when his value is being set by both form and availability.
For Dykes, the next step is straightforward even if the decision is not: commit to Charlton, accept a new challenge at Leicester, or wait to see which of the other interested clubs moves first. The World Cup will come with no club badge beside his name, and that makes the transfer call before he boards the plane the most consequential part of his summer.
