It has long been forecast that this summer will bring a sea of change to the Leicester City squad. Disappointing domestic performances and a failed Europa League tournament has left many looking ahead to the next season for success.
It is clear the that Foxes are in need of a shake-up; to fully eject the deadwood out of their ranks as they try to build on the success of the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns. There will undoubtedly be numerous incomings in the summer, but it isn’t a case of being able to spend like they were last season.
This summer, Leicester will need to sell in order to spend, and transfer expert, Dean Jones, has claimed that they will have to offload numerous players in order to do their business. This isn’t a bad thing, there are players who have been involved in the last few years that do not possess the qualities that Rodgers is looking for; selling them will be as useful as signing someone new.
Here’s what Jones had to say:
"‘We’re told, you know, be realistic […] about what can happen in the summer. But I think Brendan Rodgers, to be honest, would be quite happy to sell players in order to make room for new ones. He’s starting to question now the character and the mentality of some of the players within his squad, like maybe they’ve had their time at Leicester and need a new challenge.’ Via thisisfutbol.com"
Why the lack of money at Leicester City?
Rodgers has always repeated that he doesn’t have the budget of the teams they aim to be amongst. Leicester don’t have an Oligarch or a whole Nation State backing them, instead they have the King Power Group business.
Their budget has meant that LCFC have had to sign (and sell) smartly. Huge transfer coups such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante has gifted Leicester with quality players that have developed into league winners.
Selling Harry Maguire, Riyad Mahrez, Ben Chilwell and Danny Drinkwater has given the club well over £150m to play with in the market, enabling the signings of Youri Tielemans, Wesley Fofana and Patson Daka. But last year, Leicester didn’t sell a big name and so haven’t had that booster in their budget.
Added to this was the COVID-19 pandemic, and the worldwide restrictions that it brought. The club was directly affected – as was every other club – with empty stadiums in the height of the outbreak. However, King Power themselves were also hit heavily.
A reminder, King Power is a Thai duty-free and travel-retail business. So, when the world was brought to a standstill, and a large amount of international travel was banned and discouraged, King Power lost customers and money. In essence, for a period, the company became defunct.
Now, King Power are building up their money again and are in a state of recovery, but this means that Chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, is unable to provide the funds to Leicester that he was three years ago.
This is Jones’ say on the matter:
"‘How much money they actually have to spend, we’ll have to find out, because King Power were hit hard by [the pandemic] and the impacts of it, and we saw that in the January market, that they were never going to have a big window there.’"
Which Foxes could make way?
This news all but confirms that Leicester will be forced to sell Youri Tielemans in the summer. With no signs that the Belgian will sign a new contract at the club, City can’t afford to lose him on a free next year. The £40m-£50m that they will recieve for his services will be crucial in terms of aiding their summer spending. Plus, the emergence of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has softened the blow of Tielemans’ departure.
Elsewhere, the Foxes will surely be looking to offload Ayoze Perez. The Spaniard’s signing has been a failure for the most part, with his £30m fee an eye-watering mistake. Now – with only 12 goals and 9 assists in 92 games during his time in Leicester blue – the former Newcastle man has been all but frozen out of the squad.
Perez’s contract expires in 2023 and, with his value currently at £13.5m on Transfermarkt, the board will be making double the loss of the fee that they paid for him in 2019. I do feel sorry for him, he was signed as a right winger when his best position was as a CAM or a CF, but the form and importance of James Maddison meant he was never given prolonged time in the centre of the pitch. It is, however, time the ex-Newcastle United man was moved on.
Dennis Praet will surely leave in the summer after being loaned out to Torino this season. Whether his future is in Italy is up for debate, but the midfielder is out of Rodger’s favour and cashing in on him will generate yet more funds.
Danny Ward may leave having been unable to truly challenge Kasper Schmeichel for a starting spot, and the Foxes have Daniel Iverson in their ranks to replace him. Papy Mendy will also be looking to finally end his spell at Leicester having failed to do so in the last two windows. Not to mention that floundering former Southampton pair, Ryan Bertrand and Jannik Vestergaard, may also be keen to depart Leicestershire after their troubled seasons.
Finally, Leicester might just consider cashing in on Caglar Soyuncu. His form for the last two years has been mixed at best, and, if the right offer comes in for the Turkish international, Rodgers may prefer to sell and to look at the development of Ben Nelson, as well as signing an up-and-coming centre back in the summer. One thing is for certain, this summer will be a busy one for Rodgers and the recruitment team. Stay tuned for all the reaction and news you need – from FoL!