It’s February, Leicester City are looking semi-nervously over their shoulders after an underwhelming season. Brendan Rodgers is talking about a summer rebuild – no, you’re mistaken, it’s not 2022, we’re a year on and it seems little has changed at the King Power Stadium.
Time has moved on, but the Foxes appear to have stood still. Results are inconsistent, promise is there but only in fleeting glimpses and City fans don’t turn up to many matches with much to be excited about – in many ways last season’s doom and gloom is alive and well.
So, what has time changed? Well it certainly hasn’t changed opinion – the general overview is that Rodgers is a good coach but isn’t utilising the players at his disposal, albeit who continues to be dogged by bad luck with injuries. Time has altered one thing, however – those who have not signed a new deal are edging nearer to the exit door.
There are eight City men set to leave the East Midlands outfit in July if a deal cannot be reach, some of whom have already packed their bags, others far less dispensable. The club hierarchy, if they are competent, will already know who’s leaving by way no contract offer, but they should already be in discussions with those they wish not to lose.
There’s a correlation between those who are halfway out the door four months early and a lack of first team action in recent months. It’s widely accepted that Caglar Soyuncu will depart, and that Ayoze Perez has played his last fixture in City blue, with Ryan Bertand also high up the list of those likely to leave.
And then there were five, all of whom there’s an argument for to remain at the club. The main focus should be tying down Youri Tielemans, even just for one year more, but the Belgian’s wage demands should not just be bowed down to.
Rumours have circulated that the midfielder expects £200,000 per week to sign – unfortunately for him, the Foxes should not and likely will not part with that kind of salary. He’s a valuable asset, but at that rate of pay he becomes more of a hindrance.
As well as Tielemans, the often-forgotten club captain Jonny Evans is up for renewal, who despite his injury woes, should be right towards the top of the keep pile. It’s accepted that the knocks make the Northern Irishman a liability, but you’d take a man with three Premier League titles and the experience of approaching 15 years in the top flight regardless.
The contract situation with Tete is blurred by the situation in Ukraine, but on early evidence, if the price is right, City should secure his services beyond this year. The Brazilian is still raw at this level, as proven by his mistake in the build up to Arsenal’s winning goal on Saturday, but he thrills and excites every time he picks up the ball.
That leaves two of the men who have been there throughout the post-title era in Daniel Amartey and Nampalys Mendy. Both have shown their value to the club by stepping up with gritty performances when required, in spite of a real lack of extended first team action.
Mendy has proven himself to be a solid, if unspectacular midfielder, as his game has raised and Wilfred Ndidi’s has dropped for the two West Africans to meet somewhere at the same level. Amartey has proven competence, just all too sparingly, with mistakes becoming a part of his identity.
Both deserve a new deal, perhaps just an extra year each, but neither could be blamed for exploring their options. At 30, Mendy might want to secure a first team berth elsewhere, and with Amartey finding himself at fourth choice centre-back, a move away could be the kickstart his career needs.