How well have Leicester fared in the transfer window?
As far as outgoings are concerned, Leicester City off-loaded six players. The highest-profile case being left-back, Ben Chilwell, who joined Chelsea for an initial fee of £45.18 million, with additional add-on’s being added upon performance related goals (i.e. Chelsea making Champions League). I’ve already outlined how the deal is beneficial to both sides, so this doesn’t need to be discussed in great length.
The only other player to leave for a fee is Fousseni Diabaté, who joins Turkish-side, Trabzonspor for £1.42 million. After a good loan-campaign last season with Amiens SC in France, Diabaté has officially left the club on a permanent basis. After two-and-a-half years with Leicester City, he never truly proved his worth for the Premier League. At 24-years-old, he’s no longer a player who can develop in the youth system or on consistent loan moves, and the Foxes nearly covered their initial £1.8 million investment in the Malian winger with the fee from Trabzonspor. All-in-all, not a bad result.
Three other players to leave The King Power Stadium have all left on free transfers. This comes as quite the disappointment, as Adrien Silva setback Leicester City £22.5 million in 2017, and is now leaving the club with only 14 Premier League appearances to his name. Offsetting his wages is good management, but not obtaining a fee for his qualities is poor. At 31 years of age, Silva still has a lot to offer his new club Sampdoria.
The Foxes also said goodbye to Bartosz Kapustka, as the Polish-international joined Legia Warsaw on a two-year deal. Upon signing the then 19-year-old from Cracovia in 2016, Kapustka has spent the majority of his time away from The King Power Stadium. Loan deals with SC Freiburg and OH Leuven proved unfruitful for the Foxes hierarchy, and thus he was allowed to leave the club on a permanent basis this season. At 23-years-old, Kapustka can still realise his potential, but I doubt he’ll make it in one of Europe’s top five leagues – a shame, I was a big fan of his when he arrived.
The last player to leave on a free transfer is George Thomas, who has joined Queen’s Park Rangers on a three-year deal. After being promoted to captain of the Leicester City U23’s, Thomas could never make the next step and push for a place in the Foxes first-team, unlike current U23’s captain, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. I also think Thomas’ profile isn’t best suited to the Premier League, but his technical ability will make him an asset in the lower leagues of England.