Leicester City – The deadwood must go

Leicester City have been extremely active so far this transfer window, bringing in three new players. However the size of the squad is starting to swell and the Foxes wage bill is starting to mount up. Furthermore Claude Puel and Jon Rudin will be aware that some of those players are surplus to requirements and taking up unnecessary wages out of their wage budget.

In order to meet the Financial Fair Play rules Premier League clubs are only allowed to increase their wage bill by £7 million each season. However clubs can exceed this cap through commercial income, player trading and match day income. This is explained in more detail on the financial fair play website.

Depending on the current wage bill and the variance from the clubs incomes and out goings will depend what they have to spend on players and wages. Players surplus to requirements are therefore taking up wages that could be spent better elsewhere.

Leicester City may be a financially well off club due to their billionaire owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha however they still need to operate within the FFP rules. Therefore to do so, it does not make financial sense to keep players on their books that are not needed.

Taking all of that into account, which players are at risk of being moved on from the King Power owned club.

First off let’s take a look at the players most likely to stay:

• Kasper Schmeichel – 1st choice goalkeeper.
• Harry Maguire – 1st choice centre back for Leicester and England.
• Wes Morgan – club captain, would not expect to be first choice centre back this season after the arrival of Jonny Evans but an adequate back up.
• Danny Simpson – 2nd choice right back at the club with the arrival of Ricardo Pereira.
• Ben Chilwell – 1st choice left back at the club, however rumours of an incoming left back.
• Wilfred N’didi – 1st choice central midfielder.
• Hamza Choudhury – back up 1st team player but made his debut last season under Claude Puel and expected to be part of the 1st team squad.
• Adrien Silva – has not completely settled into the team yet, but expected to be a key player next season after his difficulties last season.
• Marc Albrighton – the versatile, hard-working winger will play a key part again next season.
• Fousenni Diabate – signed in January last season and impressed in parts. Claude Puel expects him to get better too.
• Demarari Gray – despite rumours of a transfer, with Riyad Mahrez expected to leave it would seem unlikely he would also leave. If still at the club, expected to kick on further next season.
• Jamie Vardy – club legend will be the main man for Leicester next season, although there were rumours Atletico Madrid were interested in him.
• Kelechi Iheanacho – after a tough start to the season for the Nigerian, he had a strong end of the season and is expected to kick on further next season.

That leaves 13 players safe, plus the 3 new additions of Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans and James Maddison. That leaves us with 14 players (after the already departed, Ben Hamer, Robert Huth and Aleksander Dragovic)  uncertain of their Leicester careers.