The phrase ‘end of an era’ comes to mind.
“We don’t have an endless pot of money,” Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers told The Mercury recently when asked if the Foxes will be forced to sell a couple of key players to raise funds for new arrivals
“There’s going to have to be something there. But that’s okay. We can’t be frightened to say that. If the biggest clubs in the world are losing players, that’s going to happen to Leicester. That’s the reality. If a player moves on for whatever reason, it’s an opportunity for someone else to come in.
“There’s very few squads that stay together for five or six years.”
When reading Rodgers’ comments, the mind immediately turns to Youri Tielemans. The masterful midfielder is the most high-profile Leicester player entering the final 12 months of his contract after all. But he’s far from the only one.
Incomings and outgoings
Caglar Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Ayoze Perez, Daniel Amartey, Ryan Bertrand, Hamza Choudhury, Nampalys Mendy will all be free-agents in 2023. So will title-winning veterans Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy, both 35 and showing signs of age.
According to The Mail, Leicester will consider bids for James Maddison too, with the £50 million-rated playmaker perhaps the most valuable member of Rodgers’ squad, alongside Tielemans and star centre-back Wesley Fofana.
Of course, Leicester are not going to let 10 first-team players head for the exit in the very same summer. Rodgers indicated this week that he will hold talks with Schmeichel sooner rather than later, while Vardy, Evans and the resurgent Amartey are surely worthy of new deals.
But departures go hand-in-hand with arrivals. Those who go will need to be replaced.
A new number nine?
Swansea City’s Joel Piroe, a 20-goal striker with accuracy to rival that of Simo Hayha himself, has been watched by Leicester on at least four occasions throughout 2021/22.
John Rudkin, the club’s Director of Football, has reportedly ‘endorsed’ Leicester’s pursuit of the former PSV Eindhoven youngster (Swansea Independent).
Piroe – a silky centre-forward arguably better suited to the Premier League than Patson Daka – could set the FA Cup holders back around £10 million. A mere fraction if the fee it would cost to lure Charles de Ketelaere away from Club Brugge.
The elegant Belgium international, labelled an ‘exceptional’ talent by Rote Duivels boss Roberto Martinez, is valued at £33 million. According to Il Mattino, Leicester are currently in pole position to sign a man who could fill a Maddison-shaped void at the King Power Stadium.
The UEFA Conference League quarter-finalists are also reportedly fans of two exciting young forwards who, at just 18 and 20 years of age respectively, can justifiably be labelled ‘typical Leicester signings’; Red Bull Salzburg’s Chukwubuike Junior Adamu and Angers’ former Everton wonderkid Mohamed Ali Cho.
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You can say the same about Levi Colwill. According to Planet Sport, Leicester have already made one bid for the England U21 international centre-back, a potential long-term partner for the imperious Fofana.
Colwill has come on leaps and bounds on loan at Huddersfield Town from Chelsea. Who’s to say he cannot follow in the footsteps of another former fresh-faced Stamford Bridge defender – Crystal Palace’s £20 million colossus Marc Guehi – at the King Power Stadium?
After all, in Brendan Rodgers, Leicester have a coach with a superb track record when it comes to turning promising youngsters into top-flight stalwarts.
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