Leicester City captain and decade long goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has once again commented on his future. His remarks are sure to make some anxious.
456 matches, 141 clean sheets, and 562 goals conceded; those are the truly legendary career stats for the Great Dane Schmeichel at the King Power. From the Championship to the Champions League, our No.1 has been with us for a very long time.
This has also been the club the goalkeeper has developed most at, becoming renowned as one of the most reliable and assertive ‘keepers in the field. That being said, he is also known for a lack of high claims and for his tirades against referees.
Kasper has done it all for the Foxes. So, it is no surprise that his previous comments wanting him to ‘play more champions league’ before the end of his career and not knowing whether that will be ‘here or elsewhere’ did not fill the supporter base with great confidence.
What Schmeichel has said recently adds more fuel to that fire, but might also be just what Leicester supporters need from their captain. This is what you need to know, please click the ‘next page’ link below.
Leicester City’s tough two seasons
Within a two season period, the face of the King Power side could be radically different. With a squad refresh on the horizon, and several contracts expiring, things could be tough for the Foxes.
In June 2022, Daniel Amartey and Eldin Jakupovic will no longer be Leicester players, unless new deals are struck with the players. But in 2023, much more changes.
Kasper Schmeichel, Ryan Bertrand (thank goodness), Jonny Evans, Papy Mendy, Jamie Vardy, Ricardo Pereira, Ayoze Perez, Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu, and Hamza Choudhury will cease to be Foxes unless new deals are signed or they are sold. That is a massive list of the first and second senior teams.
I wonder how many will be sold in the 2022 summer transfer window to make money off of them and which ones are to be kept at the King Power.
The Great Dane comments again
Couple with this the fact that our captain has made rather vague comments on his future, and Leicester City are justified in being a little worried about the future.
As per LeicestershireLive,
"“All my heroes and inspirations played well in to their 40s so maybe I will try somewhere else or maybe not… I have a family that I need to take care of and put first at some point”"
The Danish international ‘keeper clearly wants to keep playing if he can after the expiration of his Foxes contract in 2023. At that point he will be 36, so there are at least four years he may still wish to perform his reliable duty.
However, by outright saying he might try somewhere else, this implies the captain is considering a move away from the King Power. This being said, the Great Dane also made comments which would imply otherwise.
"“Leicester has been the club that I have grown the most in, the club I have felt at home in… I always wanted to be a one-club man. Doing it for one club over an extended period is what the elite do”"
Kasper Schmeichel wants to keep playing, would like to play in the Champions League, would like to win more trophies, but would love to be a legend at a single club. These are the passions and desires of a professional and not something to be worried or angry about.
In fact, there are two ways I think we should react to these comments. First, we should applaud his honesty. From a captain, you expect them to be honest about how they feel and where they believe their future lies, and the truth is he does not really know, everything depends on his contract and on the performance of the Foxes side.
Secondly, we should recognise that these feelings are completely fair. If he wants to win more, then this team needs to improve massively for him to do it here consistently for the remainder of his career. Otherwise, it is soon time to let him choose his own destiny, we owe him that much at least.