Leicester’s ultimate top ten players ever: Midfielders, the full list and honourable mentions

Our Top Ten Leicester City midfielders.

1.  Johnny Duncan

2.  Davie Gibson

3.  Sep Smith

4.  Frank McLintock

5.  Muzzy Izzet

6.  N’Golo Kante

7.  James Maddison

8.  Neil Lennon

9.  Gary McAllister

10.Jon Sammels

Honourable mentions

Five Leicester midfielders were close to being included in our top ten. These are Andy King (379 appearances and 62 goals between 2007-2019), Esteban Cambiasso (31/5 in the 2013/14 season), Garry Parker (147/16 between 1995-99), Wilfred Ndidi (284/18 between 2017 and the present) and George Ritchie (261/13 between 1928-37). Perhaps the two closest to the top ten are Colin Appleton and Youri Tielemans.

Colin Appleton was a poised, solid and extremely effective left-footed wing half, a defensive midfielder in today’s parlance, who played, with great distinction, for Leicester for 12 years between 1954 and 1966 amassing 333 appearances. It wasn’t until 1959, after Colin had completed his national service, that he established himself in the Foxes first team, making the number six shirt his own. He was a key member of the Matt Gillies side that appeared in four cup finals in the 1960s and was the captain of the ‘ice kings’ team that almost won the double in the 1962/63 season and the first Leicester captain to lift a major trophy after the 4-3 aggregate victory over Stoke City in the 1964 League Cup final. A serious injury hampered Colin’s progress in his later Leicester days and he joined Second Division Charlton Athletic in 1966, before an impressive managerial career with Barrow, Scarborough, Hull Swansea and Exeter City. Colin passed away in 2021.

Youri Tielemans. Given his goal-scoring heroics in the FA Cup final triumph and his top-level performances which helped establish the Foxes as a force in the Premier League, it is difficult to omit Youri Tielemans from our top ten. A cultured central midfielder with an unerringly accurate shot, the Belgium international – a product of the Anderlecht academy system - was signed, initially on loan, from Monaco in January 2019 before the transfer was made permanent for a club record fee of over £30m at the start of the following season. He played for Leicester in the Premier League for five seasons making a total of 195 appearances and scoring 28 goals. The reason for not including him in our top ten is that, for his last couple of seasons at the King Power Stadium, Youri’s form dipped somewhat and he courted criticism, probably unfairly, for not pulling his weight in a struggling team. His status with the fans wasn’t helped by the fact that he clearly had no intention of staying with the Foxes beyond the end of his contract. 

A host of other players deserve honourable mentions. These include Bobby Smith (200 appearances between 1979-1986), Johnny Morris (220, 1952-58), Steve Thompson (155, 1991-95), Richie Wellens (147, 2009-13), Ian Wilson (318, 1979-1987), Robbie Savage (204, 1997-02), Alan Birchenall (183, 1971-77), Danny Drinkwater (218, 2012-17), Kevin MacDonald (155, 1980-88), Ali Mauchlen (273, 1985-92), David Oldfield (221, 1990-95), Andy Peake (162, 1979-85), Paul Ramsey (322, 1981-91), Don Revie (110, 1946-49), and Bobby Roberts (281, 1963-70).