Five senior players could leave Leicester City before the transfer window shuts on 31 August with The Athletic reporting Dennis Praet and reported Newcastle target Hamza Choudhury may be heading out the door.
With another gruelling Europa League campaign looming, Brendan Rodgers needs all the depth he can get.
But the Foxes won’t force players to stay against their will for fear of allowing a toxic atmosphere to develop in certain corners of the dressing room.
And this means that, if offers are forthcoming during the next month-and-a-half, no one will stand in the way of Praet, Choudhury, Nampalys Mendy, Rachid Ghezzal and Filip Benkovic should they be offered a fresh start elsewhere.
Of the aforementioned quintet, Praet is perhaps the most high profile.
The Belgium international joined Leicester for £18 million only last summer after an impressive loan spell from Sampdoria. His game time dried up substantially in the final few weeks of last season, however, with Praet left on the bench for each of the club’s last six Premier League fixtures.
Long-serving Mendy, meanwhile, will be allowed to leave after the arrival of another ball-winning number six – Lille dynamo Boubakary Soumare.
Leicester could sell if Newcastle come knocking for Choudhury
Tough-tackling Choudhury finds himself in the same position, although the England U21 ace could at least be offered a chance to stay in the Premier League with The Athletic reporting Newcastle United remain interested.
The Magpies tried and failed to sign Choudhury in January.
No one will be surprised to see Benkovic or Ghezzal on the transfer list, however.
The seldom-seen duo both spent last season out on loan, with Benkovic having failed to make even one Premier League appearance in Leicester colours since his 2018 arrival from Dinamo Zagreb.
Ghezzal, meanwhile, could return to Besiktas after a superb spell at the Turkish giants in 2020/21. Last week, his agent suggested £3 million could be enough to seal the deal.
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