In 2015/16, Claudio Ranieri’s men surprised everyone by writing a fresh fairy tale on modern football. They became Premier League champions beating other established clubs. It has been five years since Leicester City won the Premier League title and so far there have been no additional achievements. A sweet story that lasts for a moment like fireworks.
Ranieri, who brought Leicester to the championship, was fired when the 2016/17 season was not over. His successors, Craig Shakespeare and Claude Puel, were unable to live up to expectations. Under these two trainers, Jamie Vardy and friends returned to their habitat: the middle board.
Behind the two dismissals of the three coaches, Leicester did not actually set high targets. All club directors are certainly aware that the Premier League title is a story that is almost impossible to repeat in the near future. However, The Foxes also demanded an increase according to their investment. And the improvements were not seen in the era of Shakespeare and Puel.
Under Shakespeare, Leicester finished 12th. The following season, in the Puel era, the Foxes were a little better, grabbing ninth at the end of the season. Leicester are eyeing participation in UEFA competitions and the progress shown has been unsatisfactory.
The club which is headquartered at the King Power Stadium returned to change coaches in February 2019. This time the choice fell to Brendan Rodgers, the manager of Glasgow Celtic who won seven domestic trophies in less than three years. When Rodgers left Celtic, the Hoops were on track for the Scottish Championship title, eight points clear of their closest competitors.
Leicester was ranked 11th when the former Liverpool manager arrived. In the first half of the season, Rodgers managed to lift the performance of his players, although not too significantly. The Foxes finished ninth at the end of the 2018/19 season. The proof of Rodgers’ quality came in 2019/20, his maiden full season. Jamie Vardy and friends are able to compete in the Champions League zone until the end of the season. Unfortunately, they were overtaken by Manchester United in the last weekend.
This season, Rodgers’ team again showed their fangs. Youri Tielemans and colleagues consistently stalk the Manchester duo in number one and two. The Premier League has two games left and the Foxes are in a good position to qualify for UCL. As of this writing, they are ranked third behind the Manchester duo. In addition, Leicester also managed to qualify for the FA Cup final, playing against Chelsea on 15 May.
So, what was behind the consistent progress of Rodgers’ team in the last two seasons? One of them is smart recruitment. Under the manager from Northern Ireland, Leicester adopted an effective transfer policy. In 2019/20, Leicester sold three players for 88.5 million euros. This profit was almost entirely contributed by Harry Maguire’s transfer to Manchester United. At the same time, The Foxes poured out 104.3 million euros to hook Youri Tielemans, Ayoze Perez, Dennis Praet, and James Justin.
Earlier this season, Leicester again lost a key player, namely Ben Chilwell. Chelsea hooked the 23-year-old defender for a fee of 50 million euros. They also sold Demarai Gray and Fousseni Diabate. Instead of Chilwell, Rodgers recruited Timothy Castagne from Atalanta. Wesley Fofana was also brought in from Saint-Etienne as a future prospect. In the transfer market this season, Leicester received 53.7 million euros and lost 58 million euros for player spending.
Castagne and Fofana soon became important players for Leicester following Justin and Tielemans. Meanwhile, Perez, Praet and loanee from AS Roma, Cengiz Under, gave The Foxes the squad depth they needed. Fofana, Castagne and Justin are the fruits of a new recruiting department that was formed in the Rodgers era. When the 48-year-old coach arrived, he brought a number of his staff from Celtic. The coaching staff who participated were Kolo Toure, Chris Davies (assistant), and Glen Driscoll (fitness coach). Rodgers also installed his trusted partner as head of recruitment, Lee Congerton.
Congerton and Rodgers have worked together since at Chelsea’s reserve squad. They are tasked with identifying potential players for promotion to the first team. When Rodgers took office at Celtic, Congerton was brought in.
He has managed to continue the strong foundation laid down by Leicester’s previous head of recruitment, Eduardo Macia. This Portuguese talent scout has worked for Leicester since September 2016. During his time, The Foxes managed to secure important players such as Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Maguire, Caglar Soyuncu, James Maddison, Jonny Evans, and Ricardo Pereira. In the Macia era, Leicester also did not escape from unsuccessful purchases. Rachid Ghezzal, Adrien Silva, and Aleksandar Dragovic among them.
Nonetheless, the Macia era is much better than before, especially in the summer of 2016/17. At that time, Leicester tried to rejuvenate the squad and find a replacement for N’Golo Kante. However, club purchases were ineffective. Islam Slimani and Ahmed Musa, two of the most expensive purchases on the transfer market, failed to make any significant impact. Kante’s early replacement, Namplays Mendy, was also hit by a long injury that the club chose to sign a new defensive midfielder for the winter, Wilfred Ndidi.
When referring to Leicester’s transfer maneuvers in the last four seasons, they have been very effective in recruiting. Since 2017/18, launched Transfermarkt, The Foxes spent 365.2 million euros on player purchases and got 288.2 million euros from sales. They succeeded in developing the squad while maintaining cash flow.
On the other hand, Rodgers did not just let go of players carelessly. The senior players were retained. In the current Leicester squad, there are four players who tasted the 2015/16 title, namely Jamie Vardy, Wes Morgan, Christian Fuchs and Marc Albrighton. Vardy and Albrighton are still regularly defending The Foxes. In contrast, Morgan and Fuchs were rarely deployed.
Rodgers needs those players to maintain the dressing room atmosphere. He seeks to create authority over the squad through these influential figures. A conducive dressing room is essential for Leicester’s campaign. Senior players can also lead new players to adapt quickly. “Senior players are very crucial for me because you can’t follow the players all the time. “If they [senior players] have the right character, they will help maintain the working environment,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.
The Rodgers-led project looks sustainable. Can they qualify for the Champions League next season? The Foxes are indeed in a good position to qualify. However, in the last three matches, they have had to face difficult opponents: Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Rodgers’ team certainly do not want last season’s disappointment to repeat itself.
Rodgers’ vision is to build a team gradually to compete at the top. The Champions League is the first stage that must be achieved. In the long term, he wants Leicester to compete with those who were ordained as The Big Six. As for the short term, the mission is quite simple: make progress, slowly but surely. “We are building to be as competitive as possible without the financial support that will allow these teams [The Big Six] to reach their level. We will continue this journey, “he said.
ASL
