Leicester City expiring contracts: which players to renew or lose

First team departs

In the 23/24 season, a whole swathe of senior team players’ contracts shall expire, including club legends.

Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy will be the last remaining vestiges of the league-winning team. Their contracts should be left to expire. Both will be ancient in footballing terms by this point. Only consider extending Schmeichel’s contract if we cannot sign a long-term, high-quality, replacement.

The club legends should be asked to stay on as coaches or executives at the club for their dedication, loyalty, and class they displayed throughout their long and impressive tenures with Leicester City.

Now then, onto the critical players who will still be senior first team players by this season. Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu, and Youri Tielemans. On top of Hamza Choudhury, Papy Mendy, Ayoze Perez, and Filip Benkovic.

The critical players need new, impressive contracts to keep them at the club. Bar one exception. Jonny Evans will be too old to continue as a first team central defender. By this point, Wesley Fofana and Caglar Soyuncu will likely makeup the central defensive partnership.

Benkovic will likely leave permanently before this point, though I would like to see him stay and eventually join the senior team properly, any new signings to replace either Wes Morgan or Evans would leave him in the cold.

The defensive midfielders will not be needed. Leicester City is inundated with too many, and though both have been impressive this season. Mendy is more consistent and better positionally than Choudhury, while Choudhury is a bit more aggressive and creative. If forced to keep one as backup, I’d keep Choudhury as he is still young and has plenty of potential to improve.

Once more though, the rumoured signing of Boubakary Soumaré would leave both massively out in the cold. Both would probably be forced out due to the shear quality of Soumare.

All in all then, in the next few seasons, there will be tough choices to make, and legends will have to leave. Any new signings for strikers, attacking midfielders, or wingers could dictate who stays and who goes. What can be said is that the Foxes need to sort out the critical players with long-term contracts fairly soon or risk losing them.