Ruud van Nistelrooy took charge of Leicester for his first match against West Ham United on the 3rd December 2024. That ended a 3-1 victory after five fixtures without a win but in 16th position. Under his stewardship, the Foxes would fall to 19th, and despite small rebounds twice later in the campaign, the King Power club were relegated without barely a fight.
The Bournemouth fixture was more symbolic than anything. The Dutchman apparently has not been informed whether he is to remain with Leicester City in the next season, so little work has been done to prepare the side for what will undoubtedly be challenging times in the Championship, and the fixture would partly indicate the level of the current squad. It is clear where our level is.
Leicester City's level
This loss to Bournemouth indicates where the King Power Club really should be playing. With only six wins this season, all coming to teams who were in the bottom half of the table when played, and with poor performances against every single team with any offensive threat, the Foxes' level is of course... the EFL Championship.
Jon Rudkin crafted a team over a few seasons of overpaid, weak mentality, and physically undetermined players incapable of mounting a serious challenge. There were a few great signings - Bilal El Khannouss, Abdul Fatawu, Mads Hermansen, and Harry Winks - but most of the rest have either failed to make an impact or were old, ineffective talents without much technical ability. Jordan Ayew though has performed just fine considering the lack of fanfare.
With defensive ineptitude, an alteration in system, an critical injuries damning the side, we mustered up -38NPxG (non-penalty expected goals) versus our opponents over the course of the season. That is an extra expected goal per every single game. Lest we forget the team also conceded more than they were expected to when Hermansen initially returned from injury.
Clearly, this particular set-up of players, coaches, and the shambolic excuse for a board, will do better in the EFL Championship where their progressed academy products and a small core of Premier League-level talents will make a larger impact. Losing to Bournemouth after an improvement in results is really disappointing.
Jakub Stolarczyk is No. 1
With Danny Ward, Daniel Iversen, and possibly Mads Hermansen departing the side - so long as the latter's injury is not too severe as too scare off suitors - the Polish goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk should take the No. 1 shirt from the Welshman, and the starting spot from the Dane. Against the Cherries, we saw a glimpse of the talent he has.
The Pole made five saves and won his aerial duels, and it is worth noting that two of those saves were from inside his penalty box. The Foxes' young 'keeper was put under immense pressure and only caved later in the tie when his defence crumbled under the repeated pressure of explosive forwards. Although not a clean sheet, Stolarczyk does at least have a higher clean sheet percentage than Hermansen, and has faced tougher shots to save in getting there (indicated by his post-shot xG versus shots on target faced).
Leicester City desperately need a striker
Ruud van Nistelrooy's King Power side barely put up a whimper. With... *checks notes* three total shots in the whole fixture and not even forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga into a save, we saw in front of our own eyes how the lack of Jamie Vardy will affect Leicester.
The talismanic legend was a terrifyingly explosive and often clinical forward. Vardy's presence in the penalty box and final third was felt strongly: defenders pulled out of positions, wingers and midfielders afforded space, and the occasional link-up play by dropping deep. Vardy worked with with Khannouss, Facundo Buonanotte, Wilfred Ndidi, Stephy Mavdidi, etc. to create chances.
With Patson Daka upfront against the Cherries, we saw a unconfident but high potential player struggling to get involved, being too defensively minded due to his development as a deeper forward for us, and lacking the explosive intent to create space for our midfield to progress into. Additionally, our midfield was perhaps the most defensive, without any creativity, I have seen this season.
Leicester need to replace Jamie Vardy with a prolific striker who can fill the role of 'big presence' in the final third. They need either Emanuel Emegha or Josh Sargent. Either of the pair scores plenty of goals in their respective divisions and would be an improvement upon the Zambian should Daka move on in the transfer market. Otherwise, the Championship will be Daka's first time as the sole first-choice striker, and his first opportunity to show what he can do with consistent game time.