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"
Cover players for Leicester City
Panic or cover, Vestergaard’s arrival stemmed from Fofana’s horror injury in pre-season, as well as filling in for Jonny Evans in his injury absence. It cost £15m to lure him away from Southampton, but the Danish international was a major misstep for the Foxes. His lack of pace left him overly exposed in both the league and Europe, and his work rate was found lacking.
Bertrand’s arrival was equally influenced by James Justin’s ACL injury, and the departure of club veteran Christian Fuchs. Only wanting to offer him a one-year deal to cover Justin’s absence, Bertrand held out for a longer contract, eventually being given his wish of two years. That move has backfired, with Bertrand performing woefully, yet still he is stuck on the Foxes’ books this season with no suggestion he’s in the manager’s plans.
Sure, those two were cover players, but Boubakary Soumare and Patson Daka are far from that. Soumare was brought in for roughly £20m after the Frenchman had enjoyed an excellent title-winning season in France for Lille. Given a five-year-deal, he was set to be the eventual successor for Tielemans.
The France Under-21 representative looked to be exceptional business, but, as Rodgers said in the conference, they brought him in to be a hybrid between Ndidi and Tielemans, defending well but also carrying the ball forward. There are players who can do that brilliantly – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – but Soumare just isn’t that player.
Soumare struggled in his first year, and, despite signs of progression in pre-season, Leicester want to cash in on him after only a season. Soumare could be classed as a cover player in his first season, but Rodgers is fooling no one if he wants people to believe this was his only reason for being at the club. Many fans like Soumare, but he is – unfortunately – the right man for the wrong club.
Of all the arrivals last year, Patson Daka has been the undoubtable success. His historic four-goal performance against Spartak Moscow aside, the Zambian has shown the quality he offers in front of goal, hitting double figures last season. Eyed by Liverpool, Leicester pipped the Reds to his signing, setting the Foxes back £23m from RB Salzburg.
Another one on a five-year deal, Daka’s role was to learn from, and eventually replace Jamie Vardy in the starting XI. It’s a role that requires time and patience but he has looked the man for the job. To call him a cover player is exceptionally unfair.
Cover players or not, of the four permanent transfers, the club are now looking to offload three of them. Soumare’s departure looks likely, whilst Vestergaard and Bertrand are proving much more stubborn in their stance at the club and, even if they do sell Vestergaard, they will make a big loss on him.
This puts last season’s summer success rate at only 25%, a truly disastrous window for the Foxes. In a sport where the margins for error are so slim, this is an unacceptable figure. Even if all these were cover players, it is no excuse for them to be such poor pieces of recruitment – your squad players still need to be top players who add to your side, not detract from it.
A combination of a number of years
Having excused his business last summer, Rodgers was then asked if the lack of activity this summer is directly affected by those poor deals, with his answer posing more questions than answers:
"“It’s from before. It’s not just last summer. It’s a combination of a number of years. It’s unfair to isolate those players and say it’s just those players.”"
If not an issue directly from last summer’s recruitment, it is unclear which window he is speaking of. Looking back at the last three windows, it is hard to find one so detrimental to the squad’s size and lack of quality.
In the 20/21 window, the Foxes spent big money on both Wesley Fofana and Timothy Castagne, two exceptional pieces of recruitment. Both are mainstays in the starting XI and offer immense quality on the pitch. The only bad business done was the loan signing of Cengiz Under, but being a loan, he left the club at the end of the season.
In terms of the departures, the Foxes sold Chilwell along with Demari Gray and Fousseni Diabaté. Meanwhile, deadwood players such as Adrien Silva, Bartosz Kapustka, George Thomas, and Islam Slimani were all let go on free transfers.
Rodgers’ first transfer window was the summer of 2019/20 in which he signed Ayoze Perez for £30m, Youri Tielemans for £40m, Dennis Praet for £17m and James Justin for £6m, meanhwile he sold Harry Maguire for a record fee of £80m, whilst Callum Elder also left. Perez is one of those who is looking to sold and his fee should never have touched £30m, but Tielemans and Praet were both smart additions, whilst Justin was a coup and a half.
The Foxes haven’t recruited in huge numbers and every year – except this window – they have frequently been able to sell their deadwood, even in a Covid effected transfer market. Unfortunately for Rodgers, if the problem is a combination of multiple years, then he and his scouts are still responsible; he’s had seven transfer windows to bring in who he wants and to shape his squad.
Every team will have signings that don’t work out, it’s natural and happens to the biggest clubs around. Fans, deep down, know this and can accept this. What they can’t accept is excuses rather than accepting responsibility. Rodgers needs to learn this; he is already on thin ice with the Leicester City faithful.
Perhaps the four he brought in during last summer were just cover players, perhaps it is an issue that stems from multiple seasons, but those players can’t cover for his own mistakes. Right now, with all the speculation and rumours surrounding the club, supporters need clarity. If he can provide this, then perhaps there is still life in Rodgers’ LCFC project yet.