Brendan Rodgers attempts to justify last season’s disastrous transfer business

After a truly disappointing start to the season, and a terrible transfer window, Brendan Rodgers is currently facing the most difficult period of his Leicester City career. His side currently sit 19th in the Premier League with only a single point and are yet to win a competitive game.

Questions have been raised about Rodgers’ tactics and substitutions on the field as well as the frequent selection of a struggling Daniel Amartey. Rodgers, himself, has looked tired and dejected as speculation looms over the security of his job.

Whilst the on-field displays haven’t exactly inspired, it’s the off-field activity that has fans truly disgruntled. A much talked about summer rebuild had many anticipating the transfer window, but only veteran goalkeeper Alex Smithies has come in, with no real signs of outfield arrivals. Meanwhile Kasper Schmeichel has departed and the sagas of Wesley Fofana and Youri Tielemans rage on.

Initially, the reason for such a barren window was reported as a lack of funds. With – at the time of writing – no major player sale since Ben Chilwell’s £45m move to Chelsea in 2020, the major losses the club experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the completion of the £100m Seagrave training complex, it is easy to understand why this conclusion was drawn.

Soon though, the real reason came to light: Leicester City’s squad was far too big. Rodgers started the season with over 28 players above the age of 21 which caused a significant problem due to the Premier League squad size rules. It meant that the Foxes needed to shift their deadwood in order to sign anyone new, something they are still yet to do.

In a season with no European football, there is no justifiable reason for Leicester to have such a bloated squad; the players who miss out on the 25 squad places will spend their time on the side-lines whilst still being paid a huge weekly wage.

Because of this, a lot of attention has been paid towards last summers poor signings, several of which have already been linked with a move away from the King Power. In his recent press conference, Rodgers had this to say about his 2021/22 transfer business and if it was a success:

"“What we’ve looked at, the players who came in, Jannik was coming in as a cover player for us. Jannik was very clear on his role. We still had Evans and Cags and Daniel Amartey. He was coming in as fourth-choice centre-half. Ryan was coming in as an experienced player like Christian Fuchs. Soumare was a player who came in and he was going to be a hybrid between Wilf or Youri, meaning he could play when they were not. Patson has had more game-time. It’s a fair question, but I think it’s a fair answer to say they were coming in as cover players.” Quotes via LeicestershireLive"