Leicester City are yet to make a signing, although that time seems to be getting ever closer. However, it is not due to a lack of funds: here is an update.
How does a football club improve? Well, the most obvious answer to this is by purchasing better assets and shifting off deadwood. To accomplish this, a side requires a consistent, and ever larger, commercial footprint to generate revenue on and out of match days.
The King Power club are no exception to this golden rule. Additionally, the Foxes are not excluded from financial fair play regulations (FFP) or the confines of Premier League registration requirements. To improve, a club must spend a lot of money within FFP, and strengthen their squad within PL rules.
Thus far, a window of absolute dismay has consumed Leicester. The King Power side have released a few players, sold one, loaned out one (senior players that is), and have signed literally no one.
Why Leicester City has not signed anyone
There are myriad reasons, and they are well covered by Rob Dorsett for Sky Sports. I shall be referencing that article quite a lot, and I shall be adding opinion plus a little extra analysis to it. To summarise, the lack of signings has been due to FFP, PL rules, and a long-term vision.
Funding is not the problem. As Dorsett discusses, it is most accurate to observe King Power’s decline in commercial revenue following the COVID-19 pandemic: as primarily an international duty-free business, the drop off was huge.
Alongside this, losses for the Foxes and the engorged player wages bill (plus Brendan Rodgers is not cheap either) mean there is a reserved amount for the owners to invest. They have the money, but not as much as they could have had.
Due to those losses, the East Midlands club are unable to throw wages around without trimming their current crop. Fringe players such as Papy Mendy, Ayoze Perez, Jannik Vestergaard, and Ryan Bertrand are on large wage bills with little prospect of consistent game time. Without first removing some of that, the club will struggle to meet FFP and would just exacerbate losses.
Once more, the money is there. Leicester’s wealthy owners could spend it. However, it would just further add to losses and create the wrong kind of club. They cannot be like Chelsea or Manchester City: they have to do it the ‘Leicester way’.
PL registration requirements are another annoying limitation. The Foxes can have 25 registered senior players, with any player 21 or below allowed to play with no registration. As per Transfermarkt, of our recognised senior team, even with the loaning of Hamza Choudhury, we have 25 already.
Following the ‘Fulham way’
Many supporters will simply suggest purchasing U21 talent then. However, this comes with two major catches: firstly, it falls foul of both FFP and the long-term vision; secondly, it is just bad practice when you have so many fringe players.
Our last identifiable reason for a lack of signings is that long-term vision. Picture this, a newly promoted Leicester City splurge the cash and sign a whole new starting XI and bring some in on loan. They break the bank with a hope of staying competitive. They proceed to get injuries to that first XI and have to switch to subpar, but significantly cheaper secondary players.
Shock horror, it is the story of Fulham constantly and of Nottingham Forest this season. The Foxes cannot afford to do this on an incessant basis: we do not get parachute payments from constant relegation and promotion. Instead, we have to spend what we get plus some investment.
Sustainability & wishful thinking
Therein lies the biggest reason for no signings: we have the money; it would just be unsustainable. A football project has to be sustainable. It needs to work consistently and have strong commercials. It has to grow without breaking the bank incessantly. Otherwise, you end up like Blackpool and Derby County.
The long-term vision of the owners will not allow excessive, constant spending on player wages and signings, sometimes you need to keep what you have. Further, it only makes sense to sign when a big player leaves for big money early in the window. In other situations, we would be spending and hoping for success.
Outside of the pitch, the club continue to improve training and development of senior and youth players, they seek to turn King Power into a place for leisure, events, and entertainment, and they will expand the stadium. To compete with the biggest clubs, you have to be sustainable, and grow.
Throwing money around is not growing, it is wishful thinking. Even if it works – you create this brilliant team – Leicester could just end up running low on cash and losing a large portion of valuable players for less than they are worth.
As a couple more pieces of deadwood are extracted, there will be signings. There will be financial wiggle room in wages. There will be space in the squad, and it shall not negatively impact the long-term sustainability and growth of the club.