Five steps Leicester City need to take to not be the next Southampton

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SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: James Maddison of England U21 in action during the U21 European Championship Qualifier match between England U21 and Ukraine U21 at Bramell Lane on March 27, 2018 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) /

Step 5: Show some intent and thought in the transfer market

Whilst you can’t say Leicester City have not shown intent in the transfer market, you also wouldn’t say they have made any major waves either.

Let’s be honest, the recruitment since the title-winning season has been fairly poor (and that is being nice).

Players brought in since the title-winning season:

Luis Hernandez
Ron-Robert Zieler
Bartosz Kapustka
Nampalys Mendy
Wilfred Ndidi
Ahmed Musa
Islam Slimani
George Thomas
Eldin Jakupovic
Harry Maguire
Vicente Iborra
Sam Hughes
Adrien Silva
Kelechi Iheanacho
Fousseni Diabate

Out of that you can only say two of those have been successful with some conviction. A couple have been okay, some may come good, and the rest are just not right for Leicester.

Islam Slimani, for example, just does not fit at Leicester City. He has not been able to displace Jamie Vardy, and his and Vardy’s style don’t fit together in the 4-4-1-1 formation that Leicester have predominately played since the Algerian joined the club. It feels like his reputation was the reason he was brought into the team rather than whether he fits the team and style of play, which, for a transfer record for the club, was an odd decision.

What should Leicester do?

This summer so far is a great example of how Leicester should approach the transfer market. They have recruited an attacking right-back and an experienced centre-back who is more mobile and comfortable in possession than title-winning duo Robert Huth and Wes Morgan.

These signings fit in the style of what Claude Puel is trying to achieve with Leicester, and with rumours of them identifying James Maddison (creative attacking midfielder in the number 10 role) as a target, it seems that someone inside the club is finally realising where the squad actually needs to improve.

If Leicester City can continue in this fashion and add a few marquee signings that fit the style of play, then that would go a long way in convincing the best players in the squad that the East Midlands club is ambitious enough to stay.