Rating Leicester City’s summer transfer dealings so far

Unsurprisingly, given the need to strengthen after promotion back to the Premier League was confirmed and the need to replace the outgoing management team, Leicester City have been busy adding to the staff at the King Power Stadium.

A number of players left the club at the end of last season, including Dennis Praet, Kelechi Iheanacho and Marc Albrighton, but the biggest departures were of course the coach and star midfielder. Enzo Maresca’s unexpected, and (as far as most Leicester fans were concerned) unwanted departure to Stamford Bridge with most of his coaching staff left a big hole to fill. As I wrote in a previous post, I think the appointment of Steve Cooper is, especially given the circumstances the club is in, a good one. The appointment of four new backroom staff profiled by Jordan Blackwell in the Leicester Mercury – Alan Tate, Danny Alcock, Andrew Hughes and Steve Rands – also looks promising. Only time will tell, of course, if I’m right.

As predicted, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was also sold, although not many thought he would end up with his old boss in west London. We can quibble over the small fee the club received for the midfielder, but most fans realize the Foxes had no choice but to sell the player due to the requirements of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations. In the past, players have left the King Power Stadium either because – like the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Harry Maguire and Ben Chilwell – they wanted to leave, or because Leicester needed the transfer fee to stay solvent.

The KDH sale does not fit into any category. The player didn’t want to leave and the club didn’t want to sell. It’s slightly ridiculous that the rules have forced the Foxes to sell home-grown talent, but they can still spend the proceeds on new signings as the spending can be spread over the players’ contracts.