The ideal transfers to improve the Leicester City squad for 2019/20 season

After a turbulent 2018/19 campaign, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers will hope to build on his young, talented squad this summer transfer window.

Despite it being Leicester City’s first season without their sublime Algerian match-winner Riyad Mahrez, their final tally of 52 points is five more than they managed in 2017/18. An impressive feat, considering the huge overhaul undertaken to transition away from the counter attacking style that famously won them the Premier League in 2016.

This improvement was due, in part, to their best summer transfer window since 2015. Although, after Mahrez finally departed, the additions made last year were nothing short of superb. James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira and Johnny Evans can now be viewed as bargains for a combined £45 million, while the shrewd captures of young stars such as Filip Benkovic and Caglar Soyuncu were  necessary given City’s ageing defence.

With the recent – and questionable – appointment of Lee Congerton as Head of Senior Recruitment, Leicester fans will hope to replicate the productive summer window of 2018, with an emphasis on keeping their youthful, exciting side at the club.

Below is this writer’s ideal squad to begin the 2019/20 campaign with:

The priority

Youri Tielemans. The number one priority this summer.

After impressing immensely while on loan at the King Power for the second half of this season, Youri Tielemans has proved essential to City’s success. For much of the campaign, Leicester’s midfield lacked cutting edge, especially against resilient, defensive opponents. However, the 22-year-old’s three goals and four assists have been integral to overcoming this fault.

His impact on City’s style of play is so great that, in a recent poll, 70% of fans voted that they would rather sign just the Belgian this summer, rather than bringing in five players of varying quality.

The reported asking price for the midfielder varies, but the most common figure touted is £40 million, which he is certainly worth. Unfortunately, the Foxes must fend off the interest of major clubs, such as Manchester United and City, to secure his signature.

The marquee winger

As the above tweet states, the suggested squad does have an element of pipe-dream about it. This is particularly true for the inclusion of Hakim Ziyech, who has played an immense role in Ajax’s phenomenal Champions League campaign.

However, with a reported release clause of £25 million, he is worth a punt. Obviously, his preferred destination would arguably be to a club playing in Europe, or to stay with a side that play glorious football. Stranger things have happened, though. Last season, the highly sought after, Jean Michel Seri, joined Fulham and we had enough glamour to entice Ricardo Pereira.

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The likelihood is that Ziyech won’t join Leicester, but with Jarrod Bowen and Ismaila Sarr linked, there is certainly a good chance that Congerton & co. will bring in a marquee winger to finally fill the void left by Riyad Mahrez.

The ideal squad also suggests the need for another creative midfielder to provide depth beyond Maddison and Tielemans. Victor Camarasa, Tom Rogic and Aaron Mooy are all suitable, but financially viable candidates for this role, although putting faith in a youngster such as, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could be equally successful.