Leicester City – The deadwood must go

Midfielders

The only arrival so far in midfield is the exciting 21-year-old James Maddison from Norwich. As a central attacking midfielder that provides goals and assists he will certainly be a player that will get the fans excited to see him in action. There also strong rumours of Riyad Mahrez leaving the club to join Man City as well initial interest in Demarai Gray from Lazio. Leicester themselves have been linked with central midfielders and wide men.

The midfield department is the most overloaded area of the squad, specifically the central midfield area. With rumours of an £11 million bid going in for Stefano Stuaro going in from Leicester, it would suggest that there will be some outgoings in this area of the pitch this summer.

Wilfred N’didi, Adrien Silva and Hamza Choudhury look certain to still be part of the squad next season leaving a possible 2, maybe 3 positions available in the squad for central midfielders. With Vicente Iborra, Daniel Amartey, Andy King, Matty James and on loan Nampalys Mendy all options in that area for Claude Puel.

Vicente Iborra was signed by Leicester last season with Craig Shakespeare manager at the time. The former Sevilla captain made 19 appearances for the Foxes last season and at times looked assured  and a calming influence on the ball however he is not be most mobile midfielder we have and with Claude Puel seemingly targeting a youthful approach he may be looking for someone with the ability to get up and down the pitch better. This said, his leadership skills and quality on the ball can be useful for the younger players on the pitch to learn from.

VERDIT – KEEP

Daniel Amartey since signing in January 2016 has made 36 appearances for the Foxes – Aged 23, the Ghanaian international has not found his feet at Leicester, perhaps his versatility plays against him being able to nail down a position in the first XI. For Leicester he has played central midfield and at right back, but for Ghana he prominently plays as centre back. Even though he is only 23 and can still develop it does not seem this will happen for him at Leicester, for his own career he needs game time with a loan a good option for him however Leicester may want to recoup some of the money they paid out on him.

VERDIT – SELL

Andy King is Mr. Leicester City. Joining Leicester in 2006 from the Chelsea youth team he has gone on to make 329 appearances for the club. Winning the league title in League one, Championship and the Premier League with Leicester. It will be sad day for everyone involved should Andy King leave the club, however it seems Leicester may have outgrown him as a player and if he was to be part of the squad next season he would only be a bit part player. He will always give his all but maybe it is time to move on for him and Leicester City.

VERDIT – SELL

Matty James was an instrumental part of the first XI that got Leicester promoted to the Premier League in 2013/14 and a key player in the run in during the great escape until he ruptured his anterior ligaments. Since then James has been plagued by injuries and niggles making only 14 appearances since his injury in May 2015. For the sake of his career it may be best to kick-start it at another club that is able to give him more game time and manage his injuries.

VERDIT – SELL

Nampalys Mendy joined the Foxes in 2016 after winning the Premier League and the sale of N’golo Kante. Unfair to Mendy he was dubbed as the replacement to Kante and had huge pressure on his shoulders to replace him. Furthermore their playing styles are different but had a similar stature and so the comparisons were made. Mendy suffered an ankle injury on his league debut at home against Arsenal and since he has only made 4 appearances for the club since. Sent on loan last season to former club Nice he made 16 appearances for them and there will be questions whether Claude Puel will be keen to work with him again after Puel managed Mendy when he was at Nice.

VERDIT – KEEP