The man behind Leicester’s poor transfer window

With the signing of Timothy Castagne from Atalanta close to being finalised, Leicester City requires a number of additional signings.

Leicester City will participate in four competitions next season, with the Europa League being competed in with the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

After Brendan Rodger’s severe lack of squad depth the core reason to why the Foxes missed out on a UEFA Champions League place last season, additions to the squad this summer were a must.

Anywhere between four to six players were ideally required if the club were going to copy last season’s sizzling form.

However, with the opening weekend fixture away at West Brom, the signing of Timothy Castagne remains the only arrival at the club.

Across social media, supporters have been quick to criticise the, once brilliant, recruitment team for their lack of efficiency in the market. With January’s panic loan purchase of Ryan Bennett from Wolves, there remains a fear that a similar feat will occur come to the end of the transfer window in October.

Lee Congerton joined the Foxes in May 2019, following Rodgers from Celtic. After three years at Sunderland, Congerton previously worked at Chelsea and Hamburg.

However, the reaction from Celtic fans when he departed Celtic Park did not provide enthusiasm for Foxes fans.

But why were Celtic fans so happy to see Congerton move to Leicester City?

Rodgers had let go John Park, the man who had discovered Virgil Van Dijk and Victor Wanyama, before bringing in Congerton.

In the summer transfer window, before the Welshmen joined the Scottish champions, Celtic brought in Moussa Dembele, Scott Sinclair and Kolo Toure. A pretty successful transfer window.

Congerton’s time at Celtic Park was riddled with poor recruitment of players who were never going to make it. For every quality player who arrived, two or three players came in who weren’t good enough.

Oliver Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard are the two stand out signings from his time, with Marvin Compper joining from RB Leipzing being one of the worse. At the time, the centre-back was 32-years-old and only played 80 minutes of football before being shipped out to MSV Duisburg.

Despite the comments from Celtic fans, there was reason to hope when Congerton helped bring in Youri Tielemans on a permanent deal and Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United.

However, the poor planning in January opened up the recruitment to criticism after failing to add a needed centre-back into the ranks.

If the club can get more faces into the club before the transfer window slams shut on 5 October, Congerton will be praised.

If Castagne remains Leicester‘s only signing, it could be a long season at King Power Stadium.