Leicester City are set to take off as Steve Cooper tries to whittle down the 33-man squad

Leicester City’s preparations for the new Premier League season ramp up this week as they head to France for a week-long training camp.

The City team will fly to Evian-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Geneva, on Monday. It’s a trip that will help build the players’ fitness as they train on the edge of the Alps, while also giving new manager Steve Cooper a closer look at individuals as he builds his plans for the new campaign.

The French-Swiss border resort has been a regular fixture for City in pre-season, with Brendan Rodgers taking the team there two years ago. This week, City will work a week before finishing with practice matches against other teams working in the region, including La Liga side Villarreal.

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The players heading to Evian will provide more clues as to who is in Cooper’s plans for next season, particularly in terms of young players. In the first week of pre-season, Will Alves, Sammy Braybrooke, Logan Briggs and Silko Thomas have been involved in the senior squad from the start and will be hoping to continue to impress.

Cooper’s team swelled quickly. Twenty-four players began senior training last Monday, but since then Caleb Okoli has been brought in from Atalanta, Wilfred Ndidi has joined the club after signing a new contract, while midfielder Brandon Cover has been called up from the development.

The 20-year-old made his senior debut last season, starting in the FA Cup win over Birmingham, while playing every minute in Premier League 2 for the Under-21s. A deep-lying midfielder by trade, he often spent last season playing the hybrid role taken over by Ricardo Pereira in the first team, switching from full-back to central midfield when City had possession.

With Abdul Fatawu yet to be confirmed and five internationals – Mads Hermansen, Jannik Vestergaard, Wout Faes, Victor Kristiansen and Bobby De Cordova-Reid – yet to make the squad, the number of players Cooper is considering will rise to 33. unless he starts taking them down. The manager will also need to create space for new players, with City still in need of signings, not least in attacking midfield.

For the likes of Okoli and teammate Michael Golding, the trip also provides a chance to bond with teammates. For that reason and more, he’s valuable, defender Conor Coady believes.

He told the club ahead of the trip: “Evian comes with its challenges because of how tough the pre-season is. We all know it. We all understand it. I’ve had a lot of them in my career, in the pre-season. I love them every year.

“It’s great to spend time with the boys, going somewhere like this. New guys are coming all the time and it’s important to incorporate them. It’s something we’re looking forward to and it’s also a great place in a great part of the world.”

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