Leicester must use the loan market more wisely after relegation

Leicester City will reportedly have £10m in their transfer budget this summer, ahead of their League One campaign getting underway.

This is a sizeable amount of money to have in the transfer kitty, as the Foxes try to build a team that is capable of immediately clinching promotion back to the Championship.

While they will likely splash the cash on new permanent recruits, if this budget estimate is correct, they could also explore the loan market, as plenty of Premier League youngsters have called the third tier home in the past, before going on to carve out careers at the very top.

They will need to utilise this market more effectively than they did last season, as the loan signings of both Joe Aribo and Dujuan Richards, among other examples, went down as failures.

Leicester's failures in the loan market

Of course, the immediate push back against saying all of Leicester's loan business was poor is to state that Jordan James was an overwhelming success, on loan from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes.

Indeed, the ex-Birmingham City midfielder would be a breath of fresh air in the Foxes ranks, during a rotten season for the most part, as he bagged 11 league goals, and always wore his heart on his sleeve when lining up for the one-time Premier League winners.

Yet, that doesn't make the loan purchases of both Aribo and Richards any easier to stomach, as the former Rangers midfielder, and the Chelsea starlet, offered next to nothing when lining up for the relegated side irregularly.

Zero goals or assists would be collected by the pair who joined in January, with the lacklustre duo already forgotten about, next to the memorable stint of James.

With Aaron Ramsey going down as another misfire in the loan department, with the Burnley attacking midfielder only making nine appearances when situated at the King Power, it's clear there were a lot more loan hits, than misses, when assessing last season's business.

Leicester need to exploit the loan market more effectively, therefore, to try and win promotion, with some big names previously calling the third tier home, before becoming Premier League-calibre talents.

League One has been home to some standout loanees

It's hard to fathom now, but Morgan Rogers called League One home during the 2020/21 season on the books of Lincoln City.

Rogers looks to be on the cusp of a blockbuster move this summer, but before he transformed himself into a top-flight superstar at Aston Villa, he was plying his trade for the Imps, scoring six goals and collecting two assists from 26 appearances at Sincil Bank.

James Trafford also used to play for Bolton Wanderers in League One, before going on to secure a major move to Manchester City, while one of Leicester's prestigious former alumni, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, further earned some stripes during the early stages of his playing days when playing for Blackpool in League One.

The overriding point here is, that if you play your cards right, you can win yourself a raw talent who is ready to explode into life in League One, and give their all for their loan employers.

Leicester will be hoping they can be unearth some gems in this regard, away from flexing their muscles with permanent signings, as the sleeping giants aim to break out of League One at the first time of trying.

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