The summer transfer market has closed for another year, with some marquee names moving to the Premier League. Leicester City targeted more “up-and-coming” stars this window, but how well do Foxes of Leicester rate their business?
Firstly, let’s look at the incomings. Brendan Rodgers was transparent about his objectives for the window, outlining a total of five players, in a variety of positions, to bolster the squad for a season with European competitions.
Unfortunately for Rodgers, Leicester City we’re only able to make three signings. This began with Belgian-international, Timothy Castagne, joining from Italian-powerhouse Atalanta BC for £21.6 million.
If his first four games aren’t a sign already, the Foxes have found an excellent full-back replacement for the departure of England-international, Ben Chilwell. At 24 years old, Castagne is one year his senior, but with a plethora of additional European and international experience.
I don’t want this to become a comparison between the two, they’re different players and for what it’s worth, I think Chilwell will have an excellent season in London. It’s a rare deal in football, where both parties have succeeded. Regardless, Castagne is an excellent acquisition and perfectly fits the project being built by manager, Brendan Rodgers.
The second signing was also from the Italian Serie A, with Cengiz Ünder joining on a season-long loan. Aside from his wages, this has cost Leicester City £2.7 million, which after negotiating from an obligation-to-buy to an option-to-buy, has made this season a free hit.
If Ünder isn’t able to impose himself on the league, the Foxes will allow him to return to AS Roma – without spending a great deal on him, however, if the Turkish-international can perform to his expected highs, then the 23-year-old can be permanently signed for a mere £22 million – which in today’s climate is relatively cheap for an explosive, creative asset.
Lastly, Leicester City were able to capture their long-standing target of the entire window, Wesley Fofana. The 19-year-old was applying his trade under former Foxes manager, Claude Puel, at Saint-Étienne, but once the interest from Leicester City became evident, the move was a matter of “when” not “if”.
At £31.5 million, the deal is a very, very good one for the Foxes. I can’t stress how little risk there is to signing Fofana for just over £30 million – he’s one of the highest-rated French footballers in world football, and they’re known for having elite youngsters. Undoubtedly, he could be one of the stand-out defenders in the league as well.
Even if Fofana doesn’t experience his best years at The King Power Stadium, although I doubt he’ll struggle, Leicester City would be able to sell him on for a considerable profit, just because of his skill ceiling. I hope the Foxes integrate him into the starting set-up, and he becomes the exceptional talent he’s supposed to be. Either way, great business again from Lee Congerton and the board.
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.
Leicester City also sent Rachid Ghezzal out on his second successive loan, this time to Turkish-side Besiktas JK. I feel like this move is delaying the inevitable – which is the Algerian leaving The King Power Stadium on a permanent basis. Signed to fill the void Riyad Mahrez left behind, but could never replace what the latter provided.
There’s plenty of younger options in the market, and at the club, that prevents 28-year-old Ghezzal from really imprinting the squad. I anticipate either the Beşiktaş JK deal becomes permanent at the end of the season – depending on his performances there, or the Foxes will find another club that would appreciate the Algerian’s services.
Aside from all the incomings and outgoings, Leicester City have kept hold of a few peripheral players that looked to be on the move. Islam Slimani is one of the bigger names remaining at the club. The Algerian-international is unlikely to feature for Rodgers’ side this season and with a hefty fee bringing him to The King Power Stadium in 2016 – £27.45 million, surely there’s some resale value in the 32-year-old.
A current market value of £5.85 million is a landslide figure in comparison to his acquisition fee, but with target-men being few-and-far-between, there’s an argument for supply and demand boosting his value. Regardless, his wages are tying Leicester City down and he’s not rewarding the club with playing time – we’ll see what’s in store for Slimani.
There’s also the ongoing contention of Demarai Gray, who had a good-level of interest from other Premier League clubs, as well as some top Championship clubs. In recent weeks, Rodgers has removed Gray from matchday squads, although the reasoning is never transparent. Often it’s attested to an injury or illness, but neither seems likely, consequently the rumours are that the manager is trying to “freeze” the 24-year-old out.
Either way, I think Gray is the best substitute option in the league. If Leicester and the management staff can enthuse the out of favour winger into putting in exceptional performances off the bench, I think his season could be very successful. There could also be the incentive of a transfer either in January or next season, which could improve his performances tenfold. There’s definitely a top-quality player in there, it’s whether Rodgers can bring it out of him, or more importantly, if he wants to bring it out of him.
Overall, the window has been a good one for the Foxes. However, they’re a few players short from the haul Rodgers wanted prior to the window, so for that reason I will deduce a few marks. In conjunction with that, having players such as Slimani still on the wage bill isn’t good for the economic future and structure of the club. Therefore, I’d give the whole window a solid seven out of ten.