Leicester City
Leicester City Season Preview
Leicester City will want to put last season behind them as quickly as possible. The Foxes finished 13th in the league, dropping from 2nd the season before!
On top of that the U21 team failed to win a youth trophy for the first time in 3 seasons after losing in the semi final.
The senior team lost 2 more semi finals too, leaving the season trophyless.
The offseason has seen a couple of key areas addressed, with a slight pivot away from a full youth focus after their youth dominance came to an end, and long time captain Florian Wirtz became ineligible after turning 22.
Key Additions
There have been 2 key additions to the squad this season, both in positions which have been tough to fill for some time.
Goalkeeper has long been an issue for the Foxes. It looked like Aaron Ramsdale would be the long term option, but the Englishman's form dropped off and he was sold, leaving a void held by short term option Péter Gulácsi with a host of younger options vying for the position in the long term. But both the short and long term solutions have been found in the same player, Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The Georgian joined Leicester from Sporting CP following their relegation. He started all but 1 game in the last 4 seasons quickly becoming one of the most sought after shot stoppers in the world. He immediately takes the number one spot, with Gulácsi already departing the club after losing the role.
This was not the first time that Mamardashvili has been to Leicester though. 4 years ago Earle was one of several clubs trying to sign the then 20-year-old, and even gave the player a tour of the training grounds and stadium. But it was not to be, as he picked Bordeaux, and has since played for Malaga, AC Milan and of course Sporting.
Fans were sad to see Aleksandar Pavlović move in exchange, but rumours had been swirling that the 21-year-old was unsatisfied with his lack of opportunities and so the move took care of two birds with one stone.
The second key addition was Lucas Digne who made the move back to Division 1 from the bottom of the footballing world, with his exact role unclear. Jurrien Timber held the left back role last season with Éder Militão and Aurélien Tchouaméni deployed at right back and centre back respectively. Through adding Digne, the option came to move Timber, Militão and Tchouaméni to more natural positions, or continue with last seasons formula depending on which tactic was preferred. That was until Militão came to Earle and let him know that he would no longer play at right back, seeing as an alternative option was now available.
Digne was quick to express his excitement after joining the club, after suffering at AZ last season as the club finished last in Division 5.
"It is crazy to be training again at a proper club! At AZ it seems like the club had no plan, the manager didn't know what to do, and I don't even know when we last won. I feel like I have escaped the worst situation around! All I can say is good luck to those new arrivals there, although I suppose it cannot get any worse than 20 points in 21 games..."
Many noted their shock at the low cost of the defender for a position historically tough to fill!
It was also suggested that Earle discussed sending Gulácsi to AZ, but the German said he would rather retire than be sold there.
Depth and Cover
Last season, injury cover was near non existent, with Pavlovic stepping in to cover most positions when needed. This took it's toll when 2 or more players were out with injury or suspension and the quality of the team dropped.
This season significant depth additions have been made, spearheaded by Pablo Gavi, who played in every league game last season. The 21-year-old will continue to pick up a lot of opportunities, but will need to fight back to a starting spot, if he stays at the club.
Alexandre Lacazette was another big name addition adding depth in attack. The Frenchman has netted 71 goals in the past 5 seasons at PSG, with a further 36 assists. He will hope he can keep up that form, although his starting opportunities will be reduced.
Tyler Adams also joined, filling the gap left left by Pavlovic. At 26, he still has a lot of time on his side, and he showed his quality last season, netting 5 goals from midfield for Club Brugge.
Mario Götze, Miguel Almirón and Joaquin Correa also joined the Foxes to add depth to the midfield and attack, whilst brining in some experience to help guide the youngster in the squad.
In defence, Ricardo Mangas was brought in to add depth at left back, whilst Souffian El Karouani has already been confirmed to be returning after he accidentally boarded a plane to Stuttgart after a drunken night out.
Still to Come
Whilst most of the clubs business is done, there are still options being explored.
Pablo Gavi has expressed slight concern at prospectively losing his starting spot, and has attracted offers from several clubs as a result.
The 21-year-old is in Earle's short and long term plans though, so will remain at the club unless a strong offer comes in.
Filip Jorgensen was also rumoured to be disappointed with the arrival of Mamardashvili, which has blocked his long term path to the number 1 position. As a result, the club has sanctioned a loan move to Shakhtar for the coming season to get more game time and aide his development.
Leicester are also one of several clubs who have tracked the availability of Lautaro Martinez ahead of the new season. The Argentine is said to be furious with his situation at Hellas Verona and is desperate to leave. Rumours suggest that he has a room at the stadium as the club are fearful that the striker might run away if he gets the chance! Despite his unhappiness at the club, it not stopped him from showing up to collect his 4 consecutive Division 1 winners medals! And if he were to leave, he would have to accept that any club he goes to will be a downgrade from Hellas. Despite their interest, it looks unlikely that Leicester will be able to meet his valuation.
The staring XI looks all but set to go for the new season and will spend the next few friendlies building fitness and tactical familiarity.
Tottenham's Stunning Comeback: A Night of Football Drama
Tottenham’s miraculous resurrection caps night of contrasts
If the first legs promised drama, the returns delivered something far more precious – the kind of football theatre that transforms ordinary Saturday evenings into folklore. Two competitions, four semi-finals, and a night that will be remembered for Tottenham’s stunning resurrection and Leicester City’s brave but ultimately futile last stand.
Spurs rise from the dead with stunning turnaround
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 SC Internacional (agg: 4-1)
Football, they say, is a game of two halves. Rarely has that old cliché been given such dramatic expression as Tottenham’s extraordinary transformation at their gleaming North London stadium. Down 1-0 from the first leg and written off by many, Spurs produced the kind of performance that makes believers of the most hardened cynics.
The blueprint for this remarkable comeback was simple in its execution, devastating in its effect. Fabio Miretti’s 13th-minute free-kick gave Tottenham the platform they desperately needed, sliding under the wall to level the aggregate scores. What followed was a masterclass in controlled aggression, as Spurs systematically dismantled opponents who had arrived in London with every reason for confidence.
Ilias Akhomach’s sublime 31st-minute finish doubled the advantage, his first-time strike leaving the Internacional goalkeeper grasping at shadows. By the interval, the tie had been transformed, but Tottenham were far from finished. Jean-Mattéo Bahoya’s second-half brace – first a clinical 57th-minute finish, then a dipping effort that kissed the post before nestling in the corner – completed a rout that few could have predicted.
The statistics tell only part of this story. Tottenham’s 56% possession and 19 shots to Internacional’s 12 reflect their dominance, but cannot capture the sheer force of will that drove this performance. Internacional, so composed and organised in the first leg, simply wilted under the sustained pressure.
For manager Pedro Vilar, this was vindication of his faith in a side that had been written off after that narrow first-leg defeat. “Two outsiders in the semi,” he reflected post-match, before adding: “What a match between Tottenham and Internacional. After a defeat on first round 1-0, for Spurs was mandatory win on second leg. That happened - Spurs beat the Brazilian team for 4-0… we follow through. What a season for Spurs on Youth Cup.”
Leicester’s golden run ends in honourable defeat
Leicester City 2-2 Barcelona (agg: 4-5)
At the King Power Stadium, Leicester City’s remarkable three-year dynasty finally reached its conclusion, but not without one last defiant roar that almost rewrote the script entirely. The Foxes, chasing a 3-2 first-leg deficit, came agonisingly close to extending their unprecedented run of youth success.
Florian Wirtz, the German maestro playing his final Youth Cup match as he loses eligibility next season (though he continues with Leicester’s first team), chose the perfect stage for what proved his youth tournament farewell. His 54th-minute equaliser levelled the tie at 4-4 on aggregate, before his 69th-minute penalty sent the King Power into raptures and Leicester to within touching distance of another final.
But Barcelona, for all their early-season struggles, possess the kind of quality that separates good teams from great ones. Lamine Yamal’s 40th-minute free-kick had given them the early advantage, and when Sekou Aghehowa restored their lead just 55 minutes in – barely 60 seconds after Wirtz’s equaliser – the Catalans demonstrated the mentality that has made them perennial contenders.
Leicester manager Doug Earle was gracious in defeat, acknowledging that “the run is over” while reflecting on an extraordinary period that yielded back-to-back Youth Cups and a Shield. With Wirtz moving beyond youth eligibility, Leicester face the challenge of rebuilding their youth success around a new generation, but their legacy is secure.
Barcelona advance, but they know they have been in a battle. Their 53% possession and slight shots advantage (16 to 15) tells of a contest that could have swung either way. In Yamal, they possess a talent capable of deciding finals, and they will need every ounce of his brilliance against a Tottenham side riding the crest of an incredible wave.
CSKA complete historic annihilation
AC Milan 0-4 CSKA Moskva (agg: 0-8)
In Milan, meanwhile, CSKA Moskva completed what must rank as one of the most comprehensive demolitions in youth football history. An 8-0 aggregate victory over seven-time European champions AC Milan represents more than mere superiority – it is a statement of intent that reverberates across the continent.
The second leg followed the same merciless pattern as the first. Wilson Odobert’s 22nd-minute free-kick set the tone, Karim Konaté added his fourth goal of the tie just before half-time, and second-half strikes from Jon Martín and Franco Mastantuono completed the rout.
Milan’s Very Defensive approach was born of desperation rather than design, but even their deep block could not stem the tide. The statistics make grim reading for the Rossoneri: 39% possession, six shots to CSKA’s 20, and the kind of comprehensive outclassing that raises serious questions about their youth development.
For CSKA, this represents validation of their bold, attacking philosophy. They dominated from the first minute of the first leg to the last of the second, playing with a freedom and confidence that suggests they fear no opponent. The Shield final awaits, and on this evidence, they will take some stopping.
Leverkusen cruise past brave Sampdoria
Sampdoria 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen (agg: 2-7)
The night’s final act saw Bayer Leverkusen complete a comprehensive victory over Sampdoria that was never truly in doubt after the first leg’s entertainment. Jayden Addai’s early strike and late effort sandwiched Vanja Vlahović’s header to give the Germans a comfortable passage to the Shield final.
Sampdoria, who had shown such spirit in the first leg, found themselves chasing shadows from the moment Addai fired Leverkusen ahead after just five minutes. The Italians’ attacking approach deserved better reward than the 7-2 aggregate defeat suggests, but Leverkusen’s clinical finishing and tactical discipline proved decisive.
The contrast with their semi-final opponents could not be starker. Where CSKA have overwhelmed opponents with attacking verve, Leverkusen have combined flair with pragmatism. Their Shield final promises to be a fascinating tactical battle.
Finals Preview: David meets Goliath twice over
Youth Cup Final: Barcelona vs Tottenham Hotspur
The Youth Cup final presents a classic David versus Goliath narrative, with Barcelona’s European pedigree facing Tottenham’s remarkable journey from the brink of elimination. The Catalans possess undoubted quality in Yamal and Aghehowa, players capable of deciding any contest, but they have been tested by Leicester in a way that few expected.
Tottenham arrive with momentum, belief, and the kind of fearless approach that has already accounted for one supposed superior opponent. Their transformation from first to second leg suggests a side coming to terms with its own potential. The North Londoners will need to maintain that intensity across two legs against opponents who rarely make the same mistake twice.
Youth Shield Final: CSKA Moskva vs Bayer Leverkusen
The Shield final offers a tantalising clash of styles between CSKA’s attacking abandon and Leverkusen’s measured brilliance. The Russians have been simply irresistible throughout this campaign, their 8-0 demolition of Milan serving notice of their credentials. Yet Leverkusen possess the tactical sophistication and individual quality to trouble any opponent.
Both teams have shown remarkable consistency – CSKA in their relentless pursuit of goals, Leverkusen in their ability to control games when required. The first leg will likely prove decisive, as neither side appears comfortable sitting on narrow advantages.
The stage is set
Two finals, four teams, and the promise of more drama to come. Tottenham and CSKA arrive as the stories of the tournament, their journeys from underdogs to finalists capturing the imagination. Barcelona and Leverkusen represent more measured progress, their quality never truly in doubt.
But as this remarkable semi-final round has proven, quality alone guarantees nothing in knockout football. The stage is set for two captivating finals that could yet produce the kind of memories that last a lifetime.
Youth Cup & Shield Semi-Finals: First Leg Drama Sets Up Tantalising Returns
CSKA Moscow lay down marker with Milan mauling
CSKA Moskva 4-0 AC Milan (Youth Shield)
There are emphatic victories, and then there is what CSKA Moskva served up to AC Milan at the Arena CSKA on Saturday night. This was not merely a defeat for the Rossoneri – it was a comprehensive dismantling that has surely ended their Shield ambitions before the return leg has even been contemplated.
Karim Konaté was the chief architect of Milan’s misery, his hat-trick a masterclass in clinical finishing. The striker opened the scoring on 11 minutes with a composed finish, doubled his tally from the penalty spot ten minutes later, and completed his treble six minutes into the second half with the sort of scuffed effort that somehow finds the net when everything is going your way.
Nestory Irankunda’s sublime strike off the post in the 41st minute was merely the cherry on top of what had already become a rout. Milan, deploying a desperately defensive 4-3-3 formation, were overrun in every department. The statistics tell their own story – 60% possession to CSKA, 14 shots to seven, and a chasm in quality that the scoreline perhaps even flattered the visitors.
Milan’s ultra-defensive approach backfired spectacularly. Manager tactics of sitting deep and hoping to catch CSKA on the break proved woefully inadequate against opponents who combined pace, power and precision in equal measure. The Italians will need something approaching a miracle at San Siro to overturn this deficit.
Leverkusen edge thriller in six-goal spectacle
Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 Sampdoria (Youth Shield)
If CSKA’s victory was a statement of intent, Bayer Leverkusen’s triumph over Sampdoria was pure box office entertainment. Six goals, end-to-end action, and a result that leaves this semi-final tantalizingly poised ahead of the return fixture.
Jayden Addai and Adrian Segecic emerged as the protagonists in this breathless encounter, each claiming a brace in a match that swung back and forth like a pendulum. Addai’s early opener set the tone, only for Vanja Vlahović to double Leverkusen’s advantage before half-time. Segecic’s response was immediate and devastating – two goals in six minutes either side of the interval to level the tie and serve notice of Sampdoria’s attacking threat.
But it was Estêvão’s moment of magic that proved decisive. The Brazilian’s free-kick on 58 minutes was a thing of beauty, bending around the wall and leaving the Sampdoria goalkeeper rooted to the spot. Addai’s second, seven minutes later, should have put the tie to bed, yet with Sampdoria carrying such menace in attack, Leverkusen will know their work is far from done.
The German side’s superior possession (62%) and shot count (26 to 14) suggests they controlled proceedings, but football is rarely that simple. Sampdoria’s two away goals could prove priceless currency in the return leg.
Barcelona survive Leicester scare in Camp Nou classic
Barcelona 3-2 Leicester City (Youth Cup)
At the Camp Nou, Barcelona discovered that reputation alone does not guarantee safe passage to finals. Leicester City, those perennial overachievers, served up a performance brimming with belief and quality that has left this semi-final hanging in the balance.
Kobbie Mainoo’s early strike suggested Barcelona might cruise to victory, but Leicester’s response was immediate and impressive. Florian Wirtz’s equaliser just before half-time was reward for the visitors’ bold approach, and when Kassoum Ouattara’s delightful chip found the net with six minutes remaining, Leicester had secured the sort of away goal that can transform ties.
Djeidi Gassama and João Neves had seemingly put Barcelona in command with second-half strikes, yet Leicester’s refusal to buckle speaks volumes about their character. Their attacking approach – matching Barcelona’s adventurous formation and high tempo – was vindicated by that crucial late goal.
Barcelona’s 58% possession and slight edge in shots (16 to 14) reflected their marginal superiority, but Leicester’s away goal means the Catalans’ advantage is more fragile than the scoreline suggests. The return leg at the King Power promises to be a nervy affair for the Spanish giants.
Internacional’s slender advantage built on solid foundations
SC Internacional 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Youth Cup)
While the other semi-final produced pyrotechnics, Internacional’s victory over Tottenham was built on more pragmatic foundations. William Osula’s 14th-minute winner – a scrappy affair that saw the Tottenham goalkeeper fumble the ball over the line – proved enough to give the Brazilians a slender but significant advantage.
The game’s defining moment came four minutes into the second half when Tottenham’s Mario García saw red for a crude challenge. From that point, Spurs were fighting a rearguard action, their ultra-defensive setup becoming a necessity rather than choice.
Credit must go to Internacional for maintaining their composure against ten men. Rather than forcing the issue, they controlled proceedings intelligently, content to preserve their lead while probing for the knockout blow that never quite came.
Tottenham’s resilience in adversity was admirable – they matched their hosts for shots (10 to 11) and created several decent chances through Goran Vidović. But they now face the daunting prospect of overturning a deficit without their suspended midfielder, though the narrow margin means hope remains alive.
The reckoning awaits
Four first legs, four contrasting narratives. CSKA appear to have one foot in the Shield final, while Leverkusen hold a commanding but not unassailable advantage. The Youth Cup remains wide open, with both Barcelona and Internacional holding slender leads that their opponents will fancy overturning.
The beauty of knockout football lies in its unpredictability, and if these first legs have taught us anything, it is that nothing can be taken for granted. The return fixtures promise drama, tension, and the sort of football that reminds us why we fell in love with the beautiful game in the first place.
The Battle in Barcelona!
For the third season in a row, Leicester City were preparing for a Youth Final. Last season the Youth Cup, and the season before the Youth Shield. Both times the fans had walked away happy, their team named as Champion, and they were hoping to do so once again.
The route to the final and the clubs history here had given the fans a lot to be happy about. 12 wins, 0 losses. 44 goals scored, 7 conceded. 3 previous finals, 3 trophies.
Division 1 giants Bayern München, Barcelona and Chelsea had all been faced and beaten.
Next up, Earle's former club, RCD Espanyol.
Fans, players and pundits will all disagree on whether it is better to host the opening leg or host the second leg. Hosting the opener gives you the opportunity to build a lead to take with you on the road, but hosting the second leg allows you to, potentially, celebrate with the trophy at home in front of your own fans.
In either case, the away leg can be tough, in a hostile environment and an unknown stadium and city,
For Earle this was not a problem, as he is still welcomed back to RCD Espanyol by the club president and the fans due to the immense impact he had on the club when he arrived with them whilst in Division 5, setting in motion the forces which would take them to Division 1!
Saturday 15th March - Leg 1
The buzz around the King Power Stadium started early, with English and Spanish fans descending on the local pubs in preparation for the match. Spirits were high as the fan bases drank together, until one Englishman insulted a Spanish counterpart by referring to Madri as a "good traditional Spanish beer". A Leicester City representative confirmed that the fan had since apologised and had perhaps had one too many to drink, he acknowledged that Madri is just a jumped up Carling, and meant no disrespect to the Spanish fans.
With the mid day antics out of the way, attention turned to the stadium with the fans and media arriving.
Both teams had experience in Youth Finals, Leicester City hoping to make it 4 trophies from 4 finals, and RCD Espanyol hoping to make it 1 trophy from 4 finals, and perhaps that played a role in the early unfolding of the game.
Kick Off - after all the build up and the hype the game got underway with the result anyone's to call. That was for the first 5 minutes at least, and then a quick snappy move from Tel opened up the defence. The Frenchman set up Musiala who finished tidily to make it 1-0 in the 6th minute, with the nerves of Espanyol showing.
Following the quick start the game settled with even possession and chances, and the half ended at 1-0.
Espanyol made a change, taking off new signing Endrick for Buonanotte. The swap paid off, with the substitute levelling play in the 54th minute to liven up the away supporters. But in the midst's of their celebrations the cameras caught a quick whisper from Wirtz to Musiala, Musiala glanced at the the defender which Wirtz pointed at and gave his captain a nod. After the long 3 minutes of Spanish celebrations subsided, the game got back underway, Musiala blazed past his marker immediately, got the ball from midfield and fed Wirtz who put the ball in the net just seconds after kick off. Now it was Leicester's turn to celebrate, as the Espanyol side-line sat silent and dejected. Hope still remained though, with the game only at 2-1 it was still all on the line. But within 5 minutes the lead was doubled as Bergvall scored from outside of the box. Despite some good efforts the game ended 3-1. A solid lead, but not secure enough to be confident that the trophy was won for Leicester.
"There is still a lot to do, we have the lead, but anyone can overturn a 2 goal lead. Especially with the players they have and us being away next. Their fans will be backing them, and they will want revenge. The stats were even and today could have gone either way. I am looking forward to going to Barcelona for the next leg." The president and I are on great terms and he has invited me for dinner on Friday!"
The In-Between - 16th - 21st
With the first leg done, both teams turned their focus to the "final". That focus was distracted though. Espanyol had the Derbi Barceloni to play in the league on Sunday.
Leicester had different inconveniences to face, with away matches at Sporting in Portugal and Leverkusen in Germany ahead of the youth game, meaning there was very little time in Leicester in the week.
Both teams also made their intentions clear for the final making key additions to their youth ranks to bolster their chances. Leicester added long term target Pablo Gavi from Juventus, who came in to bolster the midfield for the last game, ahead of replacing Musiala on the wing next season. Espanyol went further though, bringing in a trio of midfielders. Marc Casado came in from Valencia in a trade, and Do-Young Yun returned for a fee of £234,200,000. They also made a blockbuster deal to bring in Pedri as a possible game changer for the final. Already 22, Pedri would only have 1 opportunity to write his name in the history books and help Espanyol win for the first time!
Saturday 22nd March
Similarly to the week prior, the day started early for players, media and fans alike. Home and away fans once again ate and drank together ahead of the game. The atmosphere was excited but friendly, until another mishap. A Leicester City fan had gone to a popular tapas restaurant, and asked for their famous local pizza. When he was corrected that the restaurant sold Spanish Tapas, he confidently explained that he wasn't stupid, and knew that Pizza was from Spain and so they should sell it there. Upon being kicked out of the restaurant it was discovered that he was the same fan who had caused issues the week before. Leicester City have since confirmed that the fans ticket was suspended and he was sent home to avoid any further issues. He was quoted saying "I didn't want any of that food anyway! I prefer proper good farm food, and I have seen some reports that there are a couple of good farmers to be found in Spain! And if it's on the interweb then it must be true!"
At the RCDE Stadium, Earle had arrived early to visit the staff and groundsmen who he had worked with before, and was greeted by a crowd of fans still grateful for his stint with the club which started over 9 years ago.
The stadium was much unchanged from his departure, but the glamour of reaching Division 1 was evident there.
The changing rooms that slight bit fancier, the ground had a slight bit more capacity, the pitch better kept. The trophy room sat with 3 "Youth Cup Final Participant" badges, and a 4th spot ready for another runners up medal, or maybe finally the Cup itself. But not the Shield, that tournament is considered a "losers competition". A statement which has caused confusion amongst some fans who have noted their lack of any youth trophy at all. But that could all change today!
Ahead of the game, Earle met with the media
"We are not looking to sit on our lead. We have won every game so far, and we intend to win this one too. I have a lot of love for Espanyol and the fans, but today that is put to one side. To see 2 teams which I managed from Division 5 upwards now meet in the Youth Cup Final is superb, and even now I am shown the appreciation from the fans and president that they wouldn't be here without the foundations laid down all those years ago in the toughest days the club faced, and carried on by the following managers and of course Glen now. But as I say, today that doesn't matter. As my counterpart said previously, 'no one remembers the losers', and I do not intend to be the loser today."
The teams were on the pitch, the stadium loud, and the excitement high to see the new Spanish signings of Pedri, Gavi and Casado.
A banner waved in the Espanyol stand "Earle - El regreso del salvador".
Another nearby hung over the rails "¡No puedes detener a Pedri!".
The dreams of the Espanyol faithful lay in the hands of an extremely talented squad, but even more so in their new star boy, Pedri! Signed to save the day, signed to create history! He would make the headlines tomorrow, that much the Spanish fans knew.
Leicester fans thought otherwise, between them, Wirtz and Musiala had combined for 29 goals and 28 assists so far, surely that wasn't going to stop now, and a 2 goal advantage the confidence was high. It was easy to tell which set of fans were making more noise, as chants in English rang around the stadium.
Kick Off - With the lead in hand Leicester started mor confidently, they kept the ball and took their time. A fancy move in midfield by Chaibi led to a late tackle by Pedri, earning him a yellow card early. The game remained stable with Leicester controlling possession. And then came the break, a quick run up the wing by Musiala caught the defence by surprise, Wirtz darted to the near post, tailed by defenders Martinez, Debast and Diouf, only to see the ball sail over all of their heads to the wide open Tel who finished with ease. After the celebrations, the players were headed back for kick off when there was a quick flash and Chaibi went down. No one saw why so VAR was was checked. In frustration at dropping to a 3 goal deficit, and having so little possession, Pedri had continued his earlier scuffle with Chaibi and elbowed him as he passed. With no choice, the ref issued a straight red card and Pedri shuffled off with tears to the boos of both the Espanyol and Leicester fans. Both sets of staff shook their heads as the superstar headed down the tunnel. So Espanyol fans were right, Pedri did make the headlines. A red card within 20 minutes of the Youth Cup final.
Down to 10 men and facing an attacking onslaught, Espanyol held on. But in the 42nd minute, Wirtz was brought down in the box for a penalty, which he tucked away with confidence. Half time saw the score at 2-0, with Espanyol failing to get a shot on target.
No changes came at half time, but like the first leg, Espanyol bounced back quickly, scoring in the 47th minute to restore some hope to the fans. But once again the excitement was short lived. Wirtz was taken down in the box for a second time, and put the penalty away as easily as his first. With that, Espanyol were done, they mustered no more shots on target for the remainder of the game. But Leicester weren't done, especially Tel. With assists from Musiala and Wirtz in the 72nd and 81st minutes the Frenchman wrapped up a superb Cup Final Hattrick, sealing an aggregate 8-2 win for Leicester.
The stadium remained full for the trophy ceremony. Espanyol collected their runners up medals as the fans chanted "at least it's not the shield! at least it's not the shield!"
Leicester raised the trophy to a full stadium, making it 2 Youth Cups back to back, 3 Youth Trophies back to back, and 4 youth Trophies in total.
"It was a great tournament for us, and a great tournament for Espanyol too. Unfortunately, todays game got away from them thanks to an early red card, and 2 clumsy penalties. I think we had it in the bag anyway, but it would be have been good to see the 2 teams go at it 11v11. Hopefully next season the opportunity presents itself once again as they are rapidly improving under Glen. But today is about Leicester and the players, Wirtz and Musiala have been immense this tournament, but Tel showed us his quality today as one of the best out there. Something he has shown in the first team too!
I would also like to pass on my congratulations to Flamengo for a great win in the Youth Shield. It is a massive achievement and Flamengo are becoming synonymous with trophies."
Wirtz ended the tournament with 22 goals and 11 assists, earning him the golden boot. Musiala chipped in with 9 goals of his own and 20 assists, taking home the Playmaker of the Tournament award.
Tel took home the match ball from the final after his electric hattrick.
And now the eyes are on next season, where Leicester City lose some key players.
Musiala and Chaibi are now ineligible, Colwill and Tel depart for Juventus and Ozcan joins Genoa. The moves leave some big holes to be filled but the like of Gavi, Nwaneri and Kwambwala will be looked to to step up and help the team continue in winning form.
But there are others who are ever improving. Barcelona are ever a threat as long as Lamine Yamal remains, and Juventus look reborn in the youth department with multiple new additions. Espanyol remain a threat with up and coming youngsters, and Flamengo will be looking to build on their Shield win. Spectators and pundits will also look on with excitement to see if Youth Cup legends Levante will re-enter next season after a hiatus this year.
The Leicester Legend
Another edition of the podcast, this time charting the story of Leicester City's rise from a club adrift in Division Four to the top ten in Division One and Youth Cup winners this season under tyro manager Doug Earle.
If you've ever been 'Douged' in the market you'll want to listen to this. If you've never been 'Douged' you'll want to listen to this.
Record Year for Leicester!
The Season
Leicester City made history this season, recording their highest Top 100 positioning of all time.
Following their promotion from Division 2 in season 19, Leicester finished 11th in their maiden D1 season. Hopes were high for the following season, but the club narrowly avoided relegation, with a 16th place finish. This season though, the Foxes have bounced back emphatically, securing 8th in the league, with the 4th best defensive record!
Leicester also won the Youth Shield adding further celebrations to the successful season.
The Future
Despite the progress, the work will not stop. Leicester are hopeful of cementing themselves as a Top 8 side, with an ambition to climb further as their young squad develops. Leicester City started the season with the 10th best squad in the entirety of Top 100. A monumental rise from Earle's first full season, where the squad was the 3rd worst in Top 100. The direction and squad both indicate the best is yet to come for Leicester fans!
It looks as thought the summer window will be quiet for Leicester with key players such as Odegaard, Tchouameni, Romero and Wirtz all signing extensions. The futures of Lewandowski and Jesus have remained in question, but it looks like the duo will remain for another push next season. And so here is how the squad looks for the Foxes currently!
The Squad
Ramsdale holds the starting spot in goal and it looks unlikely that will change. Leicester City do boast a talented trio as his back ups, in the form of Leysen, Loretz and Beadle, all of whom will be keen to impress wherever possible.
Defence is much more interesting with a host of options. The only clear cut option at the moment is Romero holding down the centre. It is likely, following the successful defensive displays last season, that Tchouameni will continue to be utilised along side Romero rather than in midfield. The duo created a formidable partnership last season which Earle will be keen to develop on. Timber, Kossounou and Van de Ven will all likely compete for spots at right back and left back, with one ultimately losing out unless Tchouameni returns to the midfield. Last season Timber and Van de Ven were the preferred options, but rumours suggest Kossounou is making major progress in training and could be set for a bigger role in the upcoming season! Diomande and Couto also add strong depth options in emergency situations.
In the midfield little will change. With Tchouameni deployed at CB, club captain Odegaard will be partnered by Camavinga. The pair worked well together when Odegaard dropped back from AM lasts season. If Tchouameni is to be pushed forward to CM again, it will mean a return to AM for Odegaard to lead from the front. Currently thought, it is Diaz who will occupy the creative space. Originally signed as a back up, Diaz had a stellar season with 5 goals and 7 assists, and has earnt a staring spot for the current season. The 24 year old is also reported to be improving majorly this Summer with his training taking a step up. The experienced Kevin Stoger was also added as a depth option for the coming season. Although it is unlikely he will see much of the field at all, the Austrian will be a mentor to the younger players and still has a lot to offer in Earle's eyes. Arda Guler will be looked to as one to take big steps this year. He had a great youth campaign and will hope for more senior chances this season.
The excitement remains up top for Leicester. Lewandowski is supplied by Jesus and the sensational Wirtz. Despite Lewandowski only joining midway through the season, the trio combined for 34 goals and 25 assists, a number they will look to build on next season. It is unclear exactly how they will like up at the moment, with Earle also experimenting with Diaz out wide as an attacking 4, and even adding Odegaard into the mix for an attacking 5, but one thing is for sure, which is Lewandowski will lead the line! Tel and Roque currently offer the explosive depth needed up front, with the youth duo able to turn a game quickly when needed. Both took advantage of their youth opportunities last season, meaning they will be in contention for 1st team minute moving forward.
Youth Success
Along with a record league season, Leicester also raised the Youth Shield for the 2nd time in their history. The road was anything but easy though with a disappointing group display and playoffs for the Youth Cup relegating the Foxes to the Shield.
Despite this the club made additions to bolster the team with Tel, Loretz, Akhomach, McGlynn and Valle all joining throughout the campaign.
Towards the end the team stated to click, and with an attacking quartet of Wirtz, Roque, Tel and Guler they scored 22 goals in their 8 Shield knock out games. Wirtz and Roque led the team with the German scoring 9 and assisting 8, whist the Brazilian scored 5 and assisted 10. What is most promising for the Youth Set up, is that only right back Couto has graduated to the senior team, meaning 10 of the Shield winning squad will return next season.
A Look Back, A Glance Forward!
In their first ever season in Division 1, Leicester City finished comfortably in mid table with 55 points, netting 51 goals and conceding 47. Ciro Immobile made a colossal impact with 19 goals in 23 games before his departure, whilst captain Martin Odegaard chipped in with 5 goals and 15 assists.
Last season though, the Foxes didn't find the same success. A drop to 16th in the league saw them finish just 2 points clear of relegation, ending on 44 points. The drop is hard to pinpoint. Goals dropped to 45 scored (a drop of 6), with 53 conceded (an increase of 6) with only 1 less win than the preceding season. However, they won a total of 5 less games, a substantial points dropper.
Leading from the front, Gabriel Jesus dragged the team to safety, netting 18 goals and assisting 6 more in the league, earning him the clubs Player of the Year award in his maiden season. The rest of the team struggled to contribute as much though with Odegaard dropping to 4 goals and 9 assists and Havertz only supplying 4 goals and 5 assists in his first and only season. Martinelli did register 1 extra goal contribution, but that came in 11 extra starts, resulting in a drop of G/A per appearance.
One key drop in results can be seen when Odegaard raised concerns about playing on the wing and asked to play centrally, a move which has not boded well for the team.
Despite the struggle, fans and the club have kept full faith in Earle, given his success in the past. With 4 promotions, 1 League Title and 1 Youth Shield and a history of successful recruitment there are no fears that the club remain on the correct course.
In his first season with the club, the squad was the the 96th ranked of all of the 100 clubs with a 216.07 ETOT. Kicking off last season the squad was up to the 8th ranked team with and ETOT of 227.53 showing a meteoric rise during Earle's tenure.
Despite a drop to 10th with an ETOT of 226.76 this season, the clubs potential has increased exponentially with additions throughout last season and this pre-season.
Even looking back to the first few rounds of recruitments whilst in Divisions 4 and 5, Earle brought in multiple back up calibre players who have since risen to prominence around the league.
Douglas Luiz joined the Foxes almost immediately when Earle joined and played 164 games for the club over the course of 5 seasons. He has since become a prominent player for Division 1 side Aston Villa with interest from a host of top clubs.
Within 2 days of arriving Earle brought in centre back David Garcia from non-competing CA Osasuna. Whilst playing a minor role at Leicester, he has developed himself into a top option at Division 2 AC Milan.
Nicolas Gonzalez was also an early signing, picked up within a month of the managerial change. He remained a back up for a long while, before working up to a starter and netting 16 goals with 10 assists in 50 games. Similarly to Luiz, Gonzalez has become a top player, culminating in a 12 goal 24 assist season for Leverkusen just 2 seasons ago.
In defence Federico Dimarco came in as a back up but grew into a player who was one of the first names on the team sheet playing over 100 games for the Foxes. The Italian is now one of the top full backs in the league and is playing at Real Madrid.
Similar success stories can be seen in the early signings of Enes Unal, Yangel Herrera and Matty Cash.
With this in mind, the fans have trusted Earle's judgment in this seasons marquee signing, Florian Wirtz. The German gem did not come cheap with multiple starters moving to Levante in exchange, but if he can build on his 12 goal 9 assist season last year then the club will be happy. At just 21, Wirtz will be a long term project for Earle, but is already a guaranteed starter from day 1, slotting in anywhere in the front 4. The early signs look superb, with 1 goal and 8 assists in pre seasons playing on the left flank, stats which will hopefully translate to the league.
Wirtz was joined by Odilon Kossounou in the move from Levante to Leicester, and he will similarly play a vital starting role. The 23-year-old is a natural centre back, but will likely find himself deployed as a makeshift right back allowing Jurrien Timber to play centrally. Kossounou has taken up this role confidently, featuring twice off the bench in the last 2 games of last season and staring there in all of the pre season matches.
These remain the only 2 signings who are likely to make starting impacts, but towards the end of last season a number of depth options were added.
Melo Arthur made a surprise return just 6 months after heading to Shakhtar. The 27-year-old wont return as a starter though, as he will act as back up to Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.
Mato Joselu was also a surprise arrival coming in from FC Twente. The 33-year-old does not fit the standard model of recruitment, but a back-up striker was a necessary addition in case of any injuries or suspensions up top. He was followed in by Alassane Plea who will add depth across the top, but will be departing prematurely in March.
Further depth has been added in the post season with goalkeeper Stefano Turati returning from Hamburg, Marco Richter arriving from Shakhtar and the versatile Baktiyor Zaynutdinov coming in from RCD Mallorca. With these additions, Earle has said his 1st and 2nd team are set to proceed for the season.
The main focus of recruitment in the past few weeks has remained youth though. After the agreement for Wirtz, Earle launched an intense pursuit of 19-year-old Joao Neves, landing the Portuguese gem from CSKA Moskva who will become a key part of the youth set up, and the 4th choice centre midfielder. Also coming in as a youth team starter and senior back up is Yan Couto. The highly coveted right back was chased by many top clubs, but it was the Foxes who won the race. Tim Lemperle also came in as a starting youth option, as Leicester search for a left winger.
Further additions came in the form of talented forwards Peque Fernandez and Calixte Ligue. Earle was surprised at the lack of competition to bring in Peque, and is excited to see how he and the 18-year-old Ligue can develop.
To bring more numbers into the youth squad a deal was agreed which has seen talented winger Amario Cozier-Duberry arrive ahead of the start of the season, with Petar Ratkov and Aljoscha Kemlein both arriving in March from Valencia.
Further additions in March will be Fin Stevens adding an option at full back, and Martim Neto, who will pair well in midfield with fellow countrymen Joao Neves.
With a lot of business done, it looks unlikely to slow down, with the future of Martin Odegaard currently in question. Earle was not thrilled with the captains decision to refuse playing on the wing, especially after the success he had found out there. A number of teams have discussed signing the Norwegian, but currently nothing is confirmed. Several approaches for Tino Livramento have been entertained, although no final agreement has been reached.
Whilst Earle has not often put much value in the pre season games, the club have taken motivation from their undefeated run. After an opening 0-0 draw with Levante, Leicester won their following 3 games, netting 9 and conceding 1. Tonight they wrapped up with a 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce, who they kick their season off against tomorrow, before heading to title favourited Dortmund for game 2.
A long season lies ahead, with the focus remaining on long term development, but the squad now looks like it is in a place to move forward with very few changes with an eye on challenging within the next few seasons. This season the target is a record top half finish, although with Division 1 strengthening season on season that target could be challenging.
Pre Season Wrapped
At the end of November, and throughout December, Leicester City underwent some major changes with 8 of the starting XI being replaced.
With that in mind, many fans expected a quiet off season with little transfer activity. Early on that looked likely, but a busy couple of days has excited fans once again.
The first news of an arrival was nothing spectacular, but came in the form of Denis Bouanga, 27, who was announced on the 5th of January. The winger officially joined 2 weeks later for a fee of just under £4 million, from Earle's past team RCD Espanyol. Bouanga isn't expected to be in contention for a starting spot and will likely only play a role in the cup competitions, or in exceptional circumstances. Fans were happy enough with the signing who helps with the depth whilst costing the club next to nothing.
Leicester then switched their target from squad depth to star man and managed to pull off the signing of Gabriel Barbosa, 25, from Division 2 side Aston Villa. Fans were caught completely unaware by the move, as the club had signed Santi Mina just a month earlier. However, their surprise was quickly followed by excitement with the Brazilian looking likely to be the main man for the years to come. In his 2 seasons at Villa, Gabriel scored 17 goals and assisted 9 more in 42 games, figures Earle will hope he can build on in Division 4. Josip Stanisic, 21, also arrived in the deal, adding another youth option to the defence. He will spend this season on loan at Spartak Moskva, gaining game time in the Youth Cup.
The deal saw promising duo Eberechi Eze, 23, and Trevoh Chalobah, 22, move in exchange. Whilst the loss of 2 developmental projects was unfortunate, the club were delighted to bring in a game changer such as Gabriel, along with a strong future defender.
It looked likely that the rest of the preseason may roll by with no more moves, but the 20th of January saw two more deals agreed. Tyrick Mitchel, 22, signed from Barcelona, becoming the second left back to swap the Camp Nou for the King Power in as many months, following Borna Sosa's move at the end of last season. Mitchell is expected to back up Federico Dimarco, 24, who has comfortably claimed the starting position since the departure of Alex Moreno, 28. Fans have been very happy with the arrival, as Mitchell becomes just the 4th Englishman in the entire squad. George Bello, 20, Konstantin Tyukavin, 20, and Check Diakite, 19, all moved to Barcelona in exchange.
Igor Matanovic, 18, was also signed, joining from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of around £650k. The German was a target of Earle's whilst at Torino, but the Italians opted to sell to Frankfurt, before Leicester swooped in to pick him up anyway. At 18, there is no expectation on the striker, who is unlikely to even get any game time in the Youth Cup. The club hope that he will be able to develop into a useful option, with an alternative style of play, similar to that of the clubs former striker Sandro Wagner.
Following the arrival of Mitchell, Borna Sosa, 24, was made available. The left back was deemed surplus to requirements and attracted a lot of interest. After long negotiations, a deal was agreed with FK Partizan. The left back will depart Leicester along with centre midfielder Diadie Samassekou, 26, and Nehuen Perez, 21, to the Serbian capital. Joining Leicester will be Matteo Guendouzi, 22, and Jeremie Boga, 25, who add much needed quality in depth to the midfield, wing and attacking positions. Both will arrive at the end of March at a key period of the season and Earle will hope the timing will give a morale boost to the sqaud.
Luis Sinisterra, 22, has departed the club on loan, joining AZ Alkmaar for the season. Having played key roles in the youth competitions whilst eligible, he had to adjust to less game time last season trying to battle for domestic cup minutes. He did well, but the strengthening of the squad means he would face tougher competition, and so it suited both the club and the player for him to seek game time elsewhere.
Sepp van den Berg, 20, also left on a season long loan, joining Youth Cup champions Arsenal. The defender will be in the youth team and push to help retain the trophy for the Gunners. At Leicester City, the Dutchman was behind Valentino Livramento, 19, at right back and a number of players at centre back. The loan will give him the opportunity to play regularly and train with top quality players in Division 1.
Leicester City are still looking to develop at right back and to pick up an extra centre back and have made Santi Mina, 26, Davide Faraoni, 30, Kevin Bonifazi, 25, Cortes Antonin, 21, and more available for potential deals.
The club has a long season ahead of them where the squad will continue to transition and strengthen with the ultimate goal of rising through the leagues. However, Earle has made it clear that he will not damage the clubs long term project for short term rewards, and believes this option is already proving to be extremely rewarding for the club.
The "Untouchables"!
One of the most reoccurring patters in Top 100 is managers sitting on player who are deemed "untouchable" or the "future of the club". This isn't a dig, I am probably one of the most guilty parties for saying this with many of the players I have now being guys I'd like to take with me as we develop. Sometimes, that random external you picked up for cash will flourish into an impressive player, or their transfer links to the big leagues will come true, but it is an increasing pattern to see these guys often turn into another regular player whilst managers hang onto old rumours and past praise. How many of the "next Messi" or "next Ronaldo" have we seen over the past 5 years? And how many young South American players could we type into Google and find links to top European clubs from a few years ago which never materialised?
With that in mind, here are how the first 5 players that I deemed "key to the future" just over a month into my tenure at Leicester City turned out.
Yangel Herrera
One of my first ever signings at Leicester came in the form of Yangel Herrera. At 22 and rated 85 he was always deemed to be a long term option for us, and that showed as I held onto him for over a year, with the overall hope that he would return to Man City and become a regular, unlocking access to the higher rating.
We signed him in June 2020 after 3 good seasons in the MLS and LaLiga with the long term hope that he would get a chance at Manchester City, his parent club. He spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons playing at City's affiliate club, New York City FC featuring in a total of 38 MLS and MLS Playoff matches. In his first season he earned a 6.99 average rating, making him the 5th highest performer, whilst aged 19. The following year he improved further, picking up a 7.24 average, taking him up to the 3rd best performer. In the 2nd half of the season, he joined SC Huesca on loan in LaLiga, giving him some much needed experience in a top league. Huesca were relegated and Herrera was sent to newly promoted Granada for the 2019/20 season. He had a fantastic first full season in LaLiga, earning a 6.95 average rating (the best rating at the club) and helping guide Granada to 7th place in the league. At this point he was rated 85 and we picked him up.
He remained on loan at Granada for another season and continued to perform well, being the 2nd best performing player of the season and leading the team to the Europa League Quarter finals and a 9th place finish in the league. Throughout the season, he raised to 88 and I was still hanging onto the hope that in the summer he would be rewarded with a chance at Man City, where Fernandinho was rumoured to be retiring, and reports surfaced that Douglas Luiz would not be re-signed from Aston Villa. As the summer dragged on, however, more and more signs popped up that he wouldn't be getting an opportunity, and talks of loans or permanent moves were floating around. A permanent move back to Granada, or to the restructuring Valencia seemed like the most likely moves, but West Ham, Southampton and Leeds United were also linked. With another move looking likely, I decided to let him go to Rubin Kazan in exchange for Eberechi Eze.
A month later he joined Espanyol on loan from Manchester City. Similarly to when he first joined Granada, Espanyol were also a newly promoted team (an immediate promotion after their first relegation since 1994). He's had a slow season, with just 6 starts in all competitions. This isn't just due to lack of selection though as he did arrive with an injury and had missed the opening few matches due to his late arrival.
Overall, he was a massively successful signing for me, going from a squad back up to a key starter. If he was still here now, he would be back to a sub though, so I think letting him go was the correct choice. I think he still has a lot to offer, and he is only 25 in February and still technically a Man City player, but I believe he needs to move permanently to a team where he can settle, as at Man City he is now at his 4th club in 5 seasons. Interestingly, in his career 175 matches, Herrera has never received a direct red card, and has only received one indirect red card, back in 2017.
Sander Berge
Coming in as an 87 aged 21, Berge was the Leicester City future in my eyes. He was an immediate starter for me and was the club captain for 2 seasons. Similarly to Herrera, Berge was at the club for over a year, as I waited for him to get a big move.
Berge was a name everyone kept their eyes on after a rapid rise in his early career. At 17, he made his Eliteserien debut for Valerenga, where he made 43 league appearances over 2 seasons before joining KRC Genk in January 2017, aged 18. He made an immediate impact featuring in 27 of Genk's 30 remaining games of the season, including league, cup and Europa league matches, as well as 6 World Cup qualifiers for Norway. He spent the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons at Genk making a total of 113 appearances for the team. In January 2020, he was heavily linked with a number of clubs, including Man United, but eventually joined Sheffield United, who were battling for a Europa League spot in the Premier League. He started off well, with the club going undefeated in his opening 5 games. Despite this the club did slip and finished 9th, not bad for their first season back in the Premier League. Berge earned a 6.81 average rating in his 14 appearances, indicating a great ability to adapt to the league quickly, and help the Sheffield project. That summer, we picked him up with a rating of 87 and aged still only 21.
In the 2020/21 seasons the decision to join Sheffield over other interested sides came undone. The club finished the season in 20th place and were relegated to the Championship. Berge's influence was limited though, as he missed 20 games due to injury and in the 15 appearances he did make, he managed just a 6.43 average rating. The relegation was seen as an opportunity for a cheap move away from Sheffield to me, and I held on through the summer. Of course, this belief was fed through the rumour mill with Arsenal, Liverpool, Lazio, Napoli and many more noted as interested clubs. As the transfer window drew on, we eventually cashed in on him as part of the deal to bring in Yusuf Demir.
He didn't end up getting a move in the summer and kicked off with Sheffield in the Championship. They went their first 5 games without a win landing the team in 21st. Since then (28th of August), Berge has started just 1 league match after testing positive for COVID and then picking up a hamstring injury which kept him out for 13 games between them. Sheffield currently sit in 14th with Berge featuring in just 9 games picking up a 6.58 rating.
With no rises, and a couple of years gained, Berge only lost value whilst at Leicester. I luckily cashed in just before the transfer window shut, whilst a move was still expected, and just before his in game stock dropped largely. Despite this, he made 85 games for the club and was the captain for a while so contributed largely to what we became. In terms of the player himself, he only turns 24 in February and has only been playing in England for 2 years as of this January. He has also been unlucky with injuries, missing 33 games since the start of the 20/21 season. A decent move will see his career reignited, but as of now, the only links are to Newcastle United (but then again who hasn't been linked).
Ifran Kahveci
As noted in my original post back in 2020, Kahveci was a player I had tracked for some time during my stints at Atletico and Arsenal. He came to Leicester aged 24 and with an 87 rating having just helped Istanbul Basaksehir to the league title. I hoped a good move to Europe would materialise and that he would take a step up in his career whilst at the club, boosting his stock in the market.
Kahveci kicked off his professional career at Genclerbirligi earning his debut in the 2014/15 season aged 19, starring in 24 games with a 6.80 average rating. He followed up the next season and a half with a total of 47 league appearances and a 6.77 and 6.70 average in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 season respectively, before getting a move to Basaksehir in January 2017. He took some time to adapt starting just 5 league games in his arriving season, and just 10 in his first full season, with another 22 appearances from the bench in the two season combined. He scored 2 goals and assisted one more in this time. The 2018/19 season is where he stepped up though, featuring in 32 league games, whilst picking up 4 goals and 5 assists and a 7.09 average rating, making him the 5th best performing player in the team. That season, the club finished 2nd in the league after coming 4th, 4th, 2nd and 3rd in the preceding seasons, nailing the teams reputation as a top team in the league. He followed up with another 4 goals and 5 assists in the league in the 2019/20 season, but his performances improved, with a jump to a 7.21 average, taking him up to the 3rd best performer at the club, as they won the league for the first (and only) time in the clubs history. With these performances, he rose to a modest 87, and joined us.
Links to Sevilla were exciting and seemed like a good natural step for a well performing 24 year old in a decently respected league. But (yes there's always a but), it never happened and Kahveci remained at Basaksehir for the start of the season. The champions suffered an inconsistent opening, losing their first 3 games, followed by a draw, then a 5 game win streak, and then another 7 games without a win.
We let him go at the end of October, with the midfielder not even lasting half a year with us. Heading into the new year Basaksehir sat in 16th, and Kahveci was able to finally get a move. However, it wasn't to a top 5 league, it was to Fenerbahce who had finished 7th and 6th in the previous 2 seasons, and hadn't won the league since 2014. He featured in 12 games in the 2nd half of the season taking Fenerbahce to 3rd, just 2 points off the title. Similarly to Berge, Kahveci has had a couple of injuries this season with 8 games missed due to hamstring issues, and a further 2 due to disciplinary issues.
He didn't last as long, and didn't really have as much expectations as the others, but it was still disappointing to see him move to another Turkish side after more exciting links. At 26, he is also not old, but may well have settled for a career in Turkey. The unfortunate aspect is that Fenerbahce don't really reach the higher ratings anymore, despite the fact that he has averaged 6.89 and 6.95 in the past 2 seasons. Since June 2019, his value on Transfermarkt has decreased and increased 7 times (4 drops and 3 peaks)!
Oussama Idrissi
This signing was unlike the other 4, in that he got his big move. He arrived at us aged 24, rated 87 with a move from AZ Alkmaar a guarantee. He went on to join Sevilla, and I was sure he would propel us forward as a club, which you could argue he did.
The Feyenoord youth joined FC Groningen in July 2015 aged 19, scoring 9 goals and assisting 3 more in 13 games for the U19s. Due to this form, he made his debut off the bench for the seniors in December and went on to feature in 18 games netting 3 and assisting 4 goals. The 2016/17 season saw him continue picking up another 5 goals and 3 assists in 17 starts and 12 sub appearances, before chipping in with another 4 goals and an assist in the first half of the following season. AZ liked what they saw and picked up the 22 year old in January for £1.8 million. He hit the ground running with 3 goals and 6 assists in 12 league appearances, along with 3 more goals and an assist in the cup, helping him to a 7.40 average rating. He followed it up in his first full season at AZ saw him score 14 goals and assist 8 in the domestic competitions. In these seasons he was the 4th and 2nd best performing player at the club respectively. He wasn't done there though, and the 2019/20 season saw him rise to the clubs best performer with a 7.70 average (the 4th highest in the league) after scoring 13 goals and another 5 assists in the league, plus 3 goals and 5 assists in the Europa league. AZ finished the season 2nd on goal difference.
We picked him up here with his big move to Sevilla just around the corner. However, he didn't arrive until October and so missed the opening 5 games. He also arrived with a slight injury, and so missed the next 4 games before making his debut in a 9 minute cameo against Celta Vigo. He would go on to feature in 2 more league games for Sevilla, both in minor stints off the bench. He played 24 minutes of LaLiga action that season. He did start 2 Champions League and 2 Copa Del Rey games for the Spanish side picking up 1 assist (against Ciudad Lucana - from the Spanish 5th Division). I still held on to the idea the Sevilla were easing him in and he was still adapting to a new league. This was contradicted in February, when he joined Ajax on loan. This, again, I took well. He was heading back to a league he knew, and to a team that was dominant. However, he started just 1 game, with a further 12 appearances off the bench in the Eredivisie and Champions League. At the end of the season I let him go, after 2 disappointing spells at strong sides.
This season Idrissi has struggled at Sevilla again. He has started 2 league games, with another 3 showings off the bench for a total of 125 minutes of LaLiga game time. There have been no injuries keeping him out, having made the bench for all but 1 game this season, so his lack of game time cannot be attributed to that. He is now linked with Cadiz and Istanbul Basaksehir, where he would hope to re-find his form.
From a developmental perspective, Idrissi was a major let down. He had a great move to a club at a good level, without it being too much of a jump, and he struggled. And it was the same story on his return to The Netherlands. However, it is impossible to mention Idrissi without noting what he did for us in the game. His first season with us he scored 9 and assisted 15, following up with 5 and 10 the next campaign. In total he scored 18 and set up 32 goals in 91 games, making him one of the best performers in my tenure. It's just unfortunate it didn't turn out the same in real life! I 100% held on too long to him as I had a lot of interest once he moved to Sevilla and some strong offers on the table.
Faitout Maouassa
Left back is a position in this game which is a tricky one to fill. So when we picked up a 22-year-old rated 87 and playing regularly in Ligue 1, I was very pleased. I saw him as a long term option at the back and as a great fix for a tricky position.
At 17, Maouassa made his Ligue 2 debut for AS Nancy off the bench in the opening game of the 2015/16 season. He made 2 more bench appearances, plus his full debut through the rest of the season as the team topped the league. Moving into Ligue 1, the youngster made just 1 league appearance in the first half of the season. However, of the final 17 games, he featured in 13 of them adding 3 goals and 3 assists to his record and earning an impressive 6.81 average rating. Rennes swooped in to pick him up, as Nancy were relegated, and immediately implemented him into the starting team as he featured in the opening 12 games. After this promising start though he started just 1 more game, with 6 more appearances off the bench. In the Summer of 2018, Rennes sent the winger to Nimes, who opted to use Maouassa as a left back. He was solid, and helped Nimes played to a 9th place finish, 1 point ahead of Rennes. His parent club opted to keep him for the next season, deploying him in his new defensive position. He started 23 of 28 league games earning a 6.98 average rating, making him the 2nd best LB in the league by performance. Rennes finished 3rd in the league earning a Champions League spot for the upcoming campaign.
He joined us, and I was content that that would be the position sorted for a long time. In the weeks leading up to his arrival there were links to Man United too, an extra benefit. He started the season as he ended the last, but in the 4th game he picked up an ankle injury which needed surgery. This gave Truffert an opportunity to jump in. On his return from injury, it looked as though nothing had changed as Maouassa started 4 out of 5 games. But as the new year came around, things changed and Truffert took the spot. There were still chances for the 22-year-old to come in, but not many, as he made just 5 league starts in 2021. Heading into July, a departure from Rennes looked likely, and Borussia Monchengladbach were linked as the likely destination. This generated interest within the game and I was comfortable letting him go with Dimarco developing in my squad.
As the theme goes, he didn't get his move to Gladbach. Instead, a month after leaving us, he made a permanent move to Club Brugge in hopes of getting regular starting action. Following the pattern, again, he arrived late, and missed the opening 6 league games, setting him on the back foot. He then appeared in 7 of the next 9 games with 4 starts and 3 sub appearances, and things were looking decent as he began to settle. However, that changed quickly and he hasn't featured in the matchday squad since mid November, being completely left out of the last 7 games in the league. Rumours now suggest a loan move to Olympiacos could be on the cards, as he has failed to impress at Brugge.
Maouassa was a major disappointment for me. He came in in a great position at Rennes, with a good rating and aged just 22. Unfortunately he has regressed quite substantially, as shown in his -1 to 86 in December, and not turned out to be the player we hoped he would be. Links to Man United excited me, and to Borussia Monchengladbach allowed me to get a strong deal for him, as he was still an 87 LB at the time. He made 91 league appearances for me at Leicester, but would now be 3rd choice behind Dimarco and Sosa. Despite his developmental stump, he was a good investment, largely because he cost me very little. Ze Luis (87, 29) and Umar Sadiq (83, 23) was what we gave for him, which was an absolute bargain as he came off the 2019/20 season. When we did sell him we got Rodrigues Dudu (89, 29) and Keita Balde (88, 26), representing a massive return on the initial cost. With all the points made about his struggles, it's key to note that Maouassa is still only 23 and has over 100 Ligue 1 appearances. He has a lot of time to get back on the correct path and has shown a good ability to bounce back from tough periods.
So of the 5 I only 1 has actually improved, although he still hasn't had the opportunities I had hoped for. So does this mean we should all trade up immediately? No, not at all. In this same period at Leicester I had Douglas Luiz who increased from 86 to 89, Darwin Machis rise from 85 to 88, David Garcia who we signed at 85 and has risen to 88, Nicolas Gonzalez who jumped from 85 to a current 88 and Romaine Faivre from external at 77 who is now an 87!
However, looking back at this has been a large factor in my recent change to a bit more of a mixed squad with several more developed players in their career such as Andreas Christensen, Gabriel Barbosa, Rafa Silva mixed in with those who are continuing to develop such as Ibrahima Konate, Emile Smith Rowe and Federico Dimarco. The new contracts also play a role in this, and have already had a large impact on the transfer market. It looks as though people are considering the risks more and are taking the Facebook rumours with a pinch of salt.
I don't expect any major changes to the way people view their youngsters, but DP made a great point when asking if people believed that they had players who could be 92/93+ before aged 25 (it was something like that) and many of us commented with the guys we thought could be, and since then almost all who were mentioned have suffered some form of stagnation.
Just also a note, this is not a advertisement of my bad judgement and management (believe it or not)! I have another piece coming soon highlighting the squad progress over the past several seasons, and I think we now have a new batch of "future of the squad" players, who hopefully keep on their current trajectories a bit better!
Buildception - The Build within the Build!
Leicester City have seen their quickest period of transition over the past 2 weeks since Earle arrived at the club, with many naming it the "build within the build".
The hectic fortnight has seen 11 new players arrive, 6 of whom have gone straight into the starting XI giving the squad a major boost in quality, while only seeing the average age rise from 23.6 to 24.2.
There were no signs of the plans from Leicester, with many fans pleasantly surprised by the announcement that Andreas Christensen would be joining club from Manchester United. The 25 year old had been on the transfer list for some time and was the perfect target for Leicester to kick off their mini-rebuild. Oscar Mingueza moved in exchange to join back up with his ex manager Ken Keeley. Earle cited the immediate boost that Christensen would bring to the team, while also having the potential to continue to develop as the main reason for the move. The Dane will partner Ibrahima Konate, 22, in defence for the foreseeable future.
Four days later Steven Bergwijn signed, bolstering the wing and adding an extra forward option. At 24, Bergwijn is far from a finished product, but he has already netted 2 goals and assisted another in 4 games adding dynamism that the Foxes have previously lacked. Emrehan Gedikli also made the move from Stoke City whilst Suat Serdar and Fabien Centonze both headed to the Britannia Stadium.
The departure of Centonze left a gap at right back, but this was filled almost immediately. Davide Faraoni was the replacement brought in from Udinese, but he didn't come alone. The 30-year-old was joined by American left back George Bello, 19, and the sensational Valentino Livramento, 19, who is already viewed as the long term option to replace Faraoni. Jack Harrison departed in exchange with Hugo Guillamon. Both were deemed surplus to requirements with Harrison struggling for game time and form while Guillamon was low on the depth chart at CM and CB.
Earle then gave fans a 2 day breather before the speed of Rafa Silva was added to the squad along with depth CB Kevin Bonifazi. After adding Bergwijn, Earle wanted another quality option to play on the opposite wing, and that came in the form of Rafa. The 28 year old had 6 goals and 10 assists at Marseille this season before his move to England, which is form Earle will hope he can recreate in the Midlands. Keita Balde and Alex Moreno were the two who headed to France in exchange. Similarly to before, this left Leicester lacking a full back.
While not quite as efficiently as before, Earle quickly identified a replacement and struck a deal within a few days. Borna Sosa was the addition, joining from Division 1 champions Barcelona in exchange for Angelo Stiller and Lorenzo Colombo. Sosa will come in and start immediately, but will face tough competition from Federico Dimarco, who has improved quickly over the past 12 months.
The same day, Leicester announced what could be the most impactful signing in the form of 26 year old Santi Mina who will lead the line. With Bergwijn and Rafa supplying him from the wings, and Giacomo Raspadori creating from the CAM position, there will be a lot expected of the Spaniard. He is said to be delighted with his move after raising major concerns at Benfica over his game time. In the past 3 seasons he has started just 10 league games. His role will change massively at Leicester where he will be one of the first names on the team sheet. A three player package of Calvin Stengs, Sebastian Walukiewicz and Mateo Klimowicz moved in exchange, but fans will think it's worth it if Mina can deliver.
The latest move came this week with the addition of 21 year old Jose Gragera from Cruziero for a fee of £2.4 million. While not a flashy signing, Gragera adds a solid young CM option who has good development potential.
It looks like the moves will continue to happen with Youssouf Fofana looking likely to leave as well as Mert Muldur and Hannes Wolf. Options are being explored for all 3, but they are only likely to leave if the correct deals are found.
The fans have been especially pleased with the speed of the transition, especially with reports at the moment that "it's tough making transfers".
23 players exchanged over 16 days between 8 teams.
These recent moves leave the club in their strongest position since Earle joined and line the club up well for further future development.
Leicester City: Season 16 Transfer Window
In the last game of the season, Leicester clinched promotion with a 3-0 win over Athletic Club. We move back to D4 with a much stronger squad than what we left with. However, that doesn't mean that we are set with the team, and it has already been one of our most impressive "transfer windows" for a while with vast improvements across the squad, throughout the starting, cup and youth teams. So with that in mind, here is a round up of who is out and who is in...
Goalkeeper - First Team
Out - Koen Casteels - 29 - 89
After 2 and a half seasons of 87 rated keepers (Skorupski, Sepe, Mirante, Consigli, Silvestri and Blanco) the opportunity to bring in 89 rated Casteels was too much to turn down, so Blanco and Idrissi left with Casteels and Serdar joining. At 29, Casteels looked like he would be a good option for some time, especially with Wolfsburg impressing last season and gaining Champions League football. On top of that, Casteels averaged a 6.72 rating in his 32 league appearances, making him the 4th best performing keeper in the Bundesliga. If he is able to replicate this form, and Wolfsburg maintain their success from last season there is no reason Casteels can't rise further. However, we then had the chance to bring in a younger option, which we will discuss shortly. As such we looked to sell Casteels and struck a deal with Athletic Club which sees Guillamon, Chust and Tyukavin arrive in exchange.
In - Emil Audero - 24 - 88
Despite being rated lower, Audero fits my build much better. Being nearly 5 years younger, Audero offers us serious longevity between the posts, while also having great potential. Last season his average rating was 6.81 for Sampdoria, making him the 2nd best keeper in Serie A. This has caught the attention of many top teams with Lazio, Roma, Inter and Juventus all interested in bringing him in. His rating is probably limited whilst he remains at Sampdoria, but a move up the league will surely unlock higher ratings, matching his actual ability. I was really pleased with bringing him in, but he did cost us one of our most promising youths, with Thiago Almada leaving in exchange (he'll be looked at later).
Goalkeeper - Back Up
Out - Gautier Larsonneur - 24 - 86
Larsonneur is a solid back up option, and is high enough to be a starter in a few teams. He had a great 19/20 season earning a 7.02 average when breaking into the Brest 1st team. Last season, though, his form dropped as he registered a 6.55 in 35 starts, famously smashing the ball against his own post in what was nearly the ultimate own goal. Despite this, it looked a move was on the cards this summer, where he was an option for high spenders Marseille, but they ultimately opted for another option. That left Larsonneur with his role at Brest. This has been thrown into question though as Bizot has been signed and started all 3 league games this season. It's an unfortunate situation for Larsonneur, who really has the ability to be a starter. Things might look up though as Bundesliga Greuther Furth are rumoured to be interested in the 24-year-old. We let him go pretty cheap, taking a big punt on 17-year-old Bilal Ceylan who recently joined Besiktas in real life.
In - Robert Sanchez - 23 - 85
It's an odd position to be excited about, but this signing brought a smile to my face. In the 19/20 season he was on loan at League Ones 19th place Rochdale. Even 3 months into last season, fans had only seen him play once in all competitions as he played back up to Matt Ryan. However, in mid-December he won the starting spot and has held it since. Brighton would eventually finish the season 16th, but despite this they had the least goals conceded for teams outside of the traditional "Big 6" with only 46 throughout the season. Only 27 of these came from Sanchez's 27 games, with the other 19 coming from the 11 he didn't play. On top of this, Sanchez kept 10 clean sheets. After a fantastic season, he was rewarded with a call up to the Spain squad for the Euros. At Brighton, he should be able to hit 87 or so before having to move to continue his development. While there are no links yet, many bigger Premier League teams are, or will be, on the lookout for a new keeper in the near future, with both Tottenham and Leicester needing to think about replacements soon. While it's early days, Sanchez has shown that he has the ability to make it at a top team, and at 23 has a long career ahead of him. He joins us in exchange for Luis Suarez, who is a player I like a lot, but fell down my pecking order.
Goalkeeper - Youth back up
Out - Ersin Destanoglu - 20 - 83
This was a really tough one to let go. At 20, Destanoglu is already the Besiktas starting keeper and helped them to win the league last season. He has already made 44 league appearances, conceding only 43 goals and keeping 18 clean sheets. During the sale to Juventus, both DP and I agreed that he would likely hit 85 in the Turkish review. In typical SM fashion, though, the starting keeper of the league champions only got a +1 to 83, which was disappointing to see, even after I had sold him. Throughout the summer he was linked with a move to France, with OGC Nice very keen to bring him in. Lyon were also reported suitors, but it now looks like he will stay in Turkey, which is probably the best scenario as it guarantees him game time at a respectable club. He should already be higher rated, but will certainly keep rising in the future. In exchange, we received Sebastian Walukiewicz and Nehuen Perez, who will both boost our youth defence.
In - Dogan Alemdar - 18 -80
I remember looking at Alemdar when he was external and being limited by the squad cap. Now I am thrilled to be able to add him. He hasn't joined yet, but will next season and will play back up to Majecki in the youth team. However, at 18 he will be our youth keeper for several seasons to come. He started last season as the back up at Kayserispor, making his league debut in week 12, before becoming the number 1 option in game-week 16. In his 29 senior games last season, he kept 10 clean sheets, which was very impressive considering Kayserispor finished only 1 point above the relegation zone. His strong displays earned him a 6.76 average rating, making him the 3rd best keeper by performance in the league. Many bigger teams took notice of this and he has now completed a move to Stade Rennes, who are well renowned for their scouting and player development. Hopefully he can win the starting spot there and continue his development. We gave Yunus Musah in exchange for Alemdar plus Jack Harrison.
Centre Back - Back Up
Out - Filippo Romagna - 24 - 86
Romagna is a player I like a lot. As a graduate of the Juventus youth academy, there was a lot of expectation from his career. And it looked to be panning out well with 82 senior appearances in all competitions by the age of 22, 59 of which came in Serie A. However, a major injury in March 2020 kept him out for over a year, with his return expected to come early this season. Despite this injury, Sassuolo opted to exercise their option to buy in his loan, showing their faith in him. At 24 he still has time to reignite his career, and is well positioned at Sassuolo where he could rise if he gains a staring spot over the clubs older options of Ferrari and Chiriches. We gave Romagna and youth defender Pelmard for Friedrich.
In - Marvin Friedrich - 25 -87
Friedrich had been a target of mine for a long time. Partially because he is a player I like, and partially because he had been sat on concerns for a long time, hitting Level 4 just before we signed him. After doing well for Union Berlin in the 2.Bundesliga, he adapted well to the top division, earning 6.65 and then 6.93 average rating in his first two seasons. He was instrumental for the team last season as part of a defence which conceded only 43 league goals, this was less than both Bayern and Dortmund. His impressive performances made him the 8th highest ranked centre back in the league last season and he was one of only 3 outfield players to play every minute of every match last season too. Union Berlin also stunned many as they finished 7th, qualifying for the new UEFA Conference League. While he is technically my 3rd choice, he will compete with Mingueza and did start the last 2 games of the season where he scored 2 goals. He was loosely linked to Lille, Monchengladbach and Leverkusen in the Summer, but no formal moves were made. If Union Berlin can fight to another 7th place finish there is no reason he can't rise further. If they return to lower in the league, though, he may need a move to keep developing. As stated before, we payed Romagna and Pelmard for his services. As further depth options we have also added Walukiewicz and Guillamon.
Right Back - Back Up
Out - None
In - Mert Muldur - 22 - 86
We've been "back up-less" at right back this season. Mingueza has been deployed out wide when needed but I have been after a natural option for some time. I'm also very happy with Centonze as a started, but was hoping to bring in a younger option too. At 22, Muldur fill both my needs well. At Sassuolo he has settled well and developed a good competition with Toljan for the starting role. I'm confident that in the mid-long term Muldur will come out on top and continue rising. He also brings us versatility as he can play centre back if needed. He brings a lot of positive attributes, and bringing in a solid young right back proved to be a very tough task, so I'm very pleased to have this one done. Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham have been linked with him this summer, but I wouldn't expect a move. While I like the move, we did pay big. Guilherme Pedro and Jacob Ramsey will head to Barca in exchange, but I'm hopeful that long term it will be a smart swap.
Centre Midfield - Back Up
Out - Sander Berge - 23 - 87
Berge was one of my first signings at Leicester, and one that I had great hope for. But he made a poor choice moving to Sheffield United and failed to really get going. While the club looked good when he arrived midway through the 19/20 season, their form dropped off and never came back with the team losing their last 3 games of the season, and failing to win in their opening 17 games of the 20/21 campaign. Berge himself had a tough time, earning a 6.43 average from his 15 total league games. He would also miss the other 23 through injury. With the club now in the Championship, they are yet to win any of their opening 4, however, Berge is strongly linked with a move away with Napoli said to be very keen on him. He had bags of potential upon his arrival at Sheffield, so much so that Man United fans were excited when they thought they had signed him (but it actually turned out to be a 15-year-old keeper), but it just hasn't panned out correctly for him with the clubs fortunes changing and him picking up injuries. A move to Napoli would certainly be a boost to him and should help him get closer to what was expected of him. Berge was involved in a big deal which saw him move to Cologne in exchange for Yusuf Demir, with Arribas and Martins also due to head to Germany next season.
In - Ibrahima Diallo - 22 - 85
This one seems like a clear downgrade when looking at the names. Berge is a big name on paper, while Diallo was a bit more under the radar when he joined Southampton. Despite being eased in slowly, he has featured in all but one of the last 12 games. While he didn't turn in any eye catching appearances, he was solid and gained good game time in a new league. This year he will hope to build on that, and look to establish himself as a solid league player, as many at Southampton do. He has already featured in both games off the bench. While it's hard to judge his potential at the moment, if he is able to push into the Southampton team then he could quite easily reach 87 by next summer. At 22 there is no rush for him, and I trust the scouting of the Saints to be right on this one. With Diallo I also received Pelmard, with Benrahma and Gunther moving in exchange.
Winger - Back Up
Out - None
In - Jack Harrison - 24 - 87
Staring last season we had a complete lack of width. Since then we have added Dudu, Balde, Serdar and Eze. On paper our back ups were Faivre and Sinisterra, who am very happy with, but Harrison brings a more immediate option, with the ability to challenge for a starting spot immediately. Harrison had a great season last year for Leeds, scoring 8 and assisting 8 in his first premier league season, earning a 7.05 average rating when playing from the left. If he is able to replicate this sort of form again this season then he will be on for another solid rise taking him further into starting contention for us. At 24, he is young enough to be considered in our long term plans, and will likely have a big role to play down the line. He came in with Alemdar for Musah.
Winger - Youth
Out - Thiago Almada - 20 - 85
When we signed Almada he was one of our top prospects and I hoped he would be with us for a long time. There were doubts from the start though. Some legal issues in Argentina cast big questions in my head before we confirmed the move. A move to Marseille then looked likely as the French team underwent a major rebuild. This fell through though, and he then looked likely to join Atalanta United, which also fell through, due to visa issues. He is set to join them in January though, leaving me unsure about my confidence in him. He is absolutely a promising player, but I don't know whether the MLS is the correct place for his development. From Velez, the most comparable player is Matias Vargas, who had a similar style of play and similar stats during his time at the club. He has failed to live up to his expectations in Europe, struggling at Espanyol. In terms of Atalanta, Barco was also a promising young Argentine, who hasn't panned out as expected. In the MLS, Almada could certainly rise, but he will need a move to Europe to really develop. He was sensational in game for us, scoring 5 goals and assisting 11 on the way to winning the Youth Shield (was very surprised to see him not make the top players list recently). He was swapped for Emil Audero.
In - Yusuf Demir - 18 - 82
We had been chasing Demir for some time, and the clubs change in management facilitated the move. After an impressive debut senior season in Austria last season, Demir has completed a loan move to Barcelona where he was due to join the B team. But after just a few weeks he had already impressed enough to be included in the first team, featuring regularly in pre-season and making his first league appearance off the bench against Athletic Bilbao. While he is only on loan, Barcelona have the option to make the move permanent, an option which already looks likely to be taken up. If he is able to keep a regular role in the team he should quite easily reach 87 by next summer and then onwards from there. He cost us a lot, with Berge, Arribas and Martin all going to Cologne in exchange.
We have a few other youths or lower rated senior players also joining, and will continue to look to improve the team at every opportunity. The team is looking great at the moment with depth that I am very happy with. We also have a "future" option at every position with either the current or potential ability to be a long term regular for us.
With the current squad, here is how our 1st team, Cup team and Youth team will line up next season.
Leicester City: One Brick at a Time!
Last season, Leicester City were relegated into Division 5. This would usually be disastrous for a club, however, Leicester saw it as an opportunity to focus on squad development, without the pressure of expectations.
This focus had already been ongoing for the 2 seasons that Earle had been there, but moving down into D5 opened up new avenues of development and allowed for an increased focus on youth.
This season, many expected that the goal would be to bounce straight back to D4, however, Leicester set no domestic league goal for this season, instead choosing to focus on the growth of the squad and long term security of the club.
They also entered the Youth Competition with no clear expectations, as the squad was changing through the season.
Season Review
Leicester began life in Division 5 relatively well, going unbeaten in their 5 opening games, and only losing 1 of their first 12 matches. In this time, though, they registered 6 draws showing that, while they weren't losing games, they were still dropping points. This was a theme that continued throughout the season, as Leicester finished the campaign with the joint 2nd most draws in the division with 15. Squad changes limited the tactical flexibility of the squad, with a narrow 4-3-3 being deployed largely through the 2nd half of the season. Luckily for the club, Raspadori shone in his new starting role following the departures of Cordoba and Gonzalez. Raspadori netted 14 goals in his 16 league starts, placing him 3rd in the top scorers table. He reached this despite playing less than half the number of games of any other player in the top 10 of the list. Suat Serdar also added strength to the attacking play as he chipped in with 2 goals and 11 assists in his 13 starts. With the attack finally coming together and the defence holding strong, Leicester were able to clinch 3rd place, and an automatic promotion spot, on the final day of the season. Their defensive efforts showed as they finished with the 2nd best defensive record in the league (33 conceded), only 1 behind the league winners Bordeaux (32 conceded). While the primary goal was to build, the club is pleased with the immediate promotion, as they feel that their development has come on much quicker than anticipated, which should leave them comfortably in Division 4.
With the senior team performing well, eyes were also focussed on the Youth team. Early on, they looked relatively average, making it out of the Group Stages of the Cup, before being knocked out in the 1st Elimination round by Augsburg. Luckily they filtered down into the Youth Shield, where they found form and confidence.
Their first Shield opponent was Valencia, who fielded a strong attacking trio of Kluivert, Wolff and Pino. Despite the potential of this trio, Leicester won their first leg 2-0, with Valencia forfeiting the 2nd leg due to fielding ineligible players.
After their elimination from the Cup at the hands of Augsburg, The Foxes had revenge on their minds with all three of their remaining opponents in the Shield being German sides.
Firstly Wolfsburg were beaten 4-0 in the first leg and 3-2 in the second restoring the squads confidence playing in Germany. That confidence was carried into the Semi-final where Hamburg were beaten 1-0 and 3-2 opening up Leicester's path to the final.
There they faced Monchengladbach, a tight squad with no real stars but a strong team ethic and work rate. Their durability showed in the first leg where they held Leicester to a draw, despite the dominance of the home team. It was clear that nerves began to set in for The Foxes before the 2nd leg, with Earle apparently frustrated at his sides inability to capitalise on their home advantage in the opener. However, those nerves were swept aside in the 17th minute of the 2nd leg when Giacomo Raspadori scored his 9th of the tournament to put Leicester 1-0 up. This lead would hold until full time resulting in Leicester's first ever trophy. Youth captain Oscar Mingueza lifted the shield and top goal scored Raspadori was voted player of the tournament with 9 goals and 3 assists. Thiago Almada also had an impressive tournament chipping in with 11 assists, while the performances of Sandro Tonali and Ibrahima Konate were also praised.
Transfers
Despite the domestic and youth success, Leicester's primary goal remained improving the squad, both short and long term. And this season that was one of the strongest points at the club. A combination of player development and transfer additions has seen The Foxes reach the highest valued squad in the Division, with a value of £203.9 million (£18.7m higher than Sao Paulo in 2nd), and the 2nd highest valued youth squad in all 5 Divisions, being valued at £87.2 million (Behind only Juventus). While neither of these translate directly onto the pitch, they highlight the clubs efficiency at brining in the correct player to develop at the right time.
Of the many signings made this season, two really stand out as key for the future of the club. Those are Sandro Tonali and Ibrahima Konate.
At 21, Tonali is already one of the best players in the squad. He has featured in every game since his arrival and is sure to be one of the first names on the team sheet next season. So far he has lined up alongside club captain Douglas Luiz in the holding midfield roles when deployed in a 4-2-3-1, or as a wider pivot in the 4-3-3. Tonali is widely regarded as the clubs future in midfield, and will also be the Youth captain next season.
If Tonali wasn't enough for fans, two weeks later Ibrahima Konate was announced too. Another shock signing due to the talent and value of the player. The 22-year-old joined from Bayern after barely featuring. He has already shown his talent at Leicester, but has been limited in game time due to a red card suspension. On paper, he is the best defender at the club, and will likely be a mainstay for years to come. He also played a key role in the youth shield success next to youth captain and senior CB partner Oscar Mingueza.
While Tonali and Konate do stand out as exceptional signings, they weren't the only arrivals. Youssouf Fofana arrived from Leverkusen, adding a great depth option to midfield, Koen Casteels joined along with Suat Serdar from Dynamo Moskva and both became immediate starters. As did Keita Balde and Rodrigues Dudu who added width to the squad when they joined from Hertha, allowing different formations to be implemented. Other key additions were Alex Moreno, Marvin Friedrich and Fabien Centonze, all of whom are likely to be starting or challenging next season. But the one that fans are most excited about is Eberechi Eze. The 23-year-old arrived from Rubin Kazan and has looked solid so far. He is likely to pick up a starting role next season and boasts outstanding talent for the future plus great versatilility in midfield. Emil Audero has also been added late in the season. He will be the starting keeper next season with Koen Casteels set to depart.
It wasn't only the senior squad that was improved. This season has seen a large influx of youth talent, helping in the current seasons youth success, and also solidifying for next season. The most improved position was centre back, with the additions of Loic Bade, Sebastian Walukiewicz, Hugo Guillamon, Lucas Tuta, Nehuen Perez, Andrea Carboni and Flavius Daniliuc all arriving or being confirmed as future signings. Many are already pushing for a senior role, and will expect domestic cup and shield game time next season. Mateo Klimowicz and Yunus Musah stand out as impressive attacking additions too and may look to capitalise on the lack of wide and attacking depth at the club to gain game time. However, all of the youth signings have been overshadowed by the recent announcement that Yusuf Demir would arrive from Koln. The 18-year-old boasts immense potential and could be one of the players who makes a big difference in the future of Leicester City. It is likely that he will fill the role of Thiago Almada, who has since left the club.
Despite these deals, the club is not done yet with their transfers. Below is a list of arrivals due next season;
- Robert Sanchez
- Nehuen Perez
- Konstantin Tyukavin
- Francesco Antonucci
- Victor Chust
As always, Leicester are still on the hunt for reinforcements, and are believed to be seeking a new starting striker and left back as well as a back up right back.
Season Breakdown
League Position - 3rd (Automatic Promotion)
Youth Finish - Youth Shield Champions
Player of the season - Giacomo Raspadori - 23 goals, 3 assists (league and youth)
Signing of the season - Suat Serdar - 12 games - 11 assists
Most improved player - Oscar Mingueza - Youth regular (83) to senior regular (87)
Most MoM awards - Douglas Luiz - 4 (6.64 average)
Best moments - Raspadori hattricks vs Montpellier and Olympiacos, Raspadori winner in Youth Final
Squad Improvements
Staring XI Week 1
4-2-3-1 (A)
87 - Marco Silvestri
87 - Ezri Konsa
87 - Robin Knoche
87 - Rick Karsdorp
87 - Faitout Maouassa
87 - Sander Berge
89 - Douglas Luiz (C)
88 - Yangel Herrera
87 - Nicolas Gonzalez
87 - Mattia Zaccagni
87 - Gaetan Laborde
Starting XI Next Season
4-2-3-1 (B)
88 - Emil Audero
88 - Ibrahima Konate
87 - Oscar Mingueza
87 - Fabien Centonze
87 - Alex Moreno
89 - Sandro Tonali
89 - Douglas Luiz (C)
88 - Suat Serdar
87 - Eberechi Eze
89 - Rodrigues Dudu
88 - Keita Balde
Next Season
Similarly to this season, the ultimate goal is to improve the squad, with the boards only goal being to remain in the division.
Earle has made it clear that he believes that the team is now only about 3 key signings away from securing the clubs staring XI for the future with players such as Tonali, Luiz, Konate, Audero, Eze, Mingueza, Dimarco, Raspadori and more considered long term options in their respective positions. And that is before looking at the exciting youth options at the club such as Bade, Guillamon, Walukiewicz, Musah, Busio, Moriba, Demir and many others who are keen to make a quick impression.
Whatever the season holds, one thing is for sure, Leicester City are on the right tracks and have come on leaps and bounds over the past season. The first team is the strongest it has been since Earle arrived and the youth squad is ready to supply the senior team in several key positions.
Leicester City: The Rating Reviews!
It's finally here! The big 5 reviews.
The building tool of many smaller clubs and the excitement to see if your transfer from months ago was worth it. It always feels like a long gap between the big reviews, and then they seem to drag on forever, but even so... It's one of the most exciting times in the game as it can shake up the league and the transfer market.
I'd be lying if I said all of my players had performed as I had expected in the 20/21 season. We've had a few who have been superb and exceeded my expectations, but there have also been those who have struggled or been hampered by injury. Overall though I am expecting some decent development, primarily in bring the back ups closer to first team contention, with a few improvements to the starting XI. With that in mind, here is how I'm hoping the big reviews will go for me (I have also added in a few from other leagues who I believe deserve rises).
Keepers
Hugo Souza - 22 - GK - 83 > 85.
Kicking off my "Big 5 Review Expectations" with a keeper from Brazil... Nice one.
But anyway, here we go. Souza is a keeper who has caught the eye of many over the past year. He made his debut, displaced Diego Alves for Flamengo, kept 9 clean sheets in 30 games and won the league all in the space of 6 months. A 6.89 average in all competitions is very respectable considering he only made his senior debut at the end of September. The 22-year-old has recently been linked to Ajax, and has already outgrown his 83 rating. 85 would be a fair rise considering his impressive displays and league winners medal. Hopefully a European move will be on the cards in the near future, allowing him to push on further.
Ersin Destanoglu - 20 - GK - 82 > 85
Another non "Big 5" player here, but also another league champion so tough to not include him. At 20, Destanoglu has already made 45 senior appearances for Turkish giants Besiktas. He has conceded just 35 goals in 35 games this season, keeping 13 clean sheets in the process. These solid displays earned him an average rating of 6.76, helped Besiktas to become league champions and has now been linked with Lyon and OGC Nice. Similarly to Souza, Destanoglu has outgrown his 82 rating and should be expected to hit 85 in the near future to closer align him to his teammates.
Centre Backs
Ezri Konsa - 23- CB - 87 > 88
Konsa has started all but 3 league games for Aston Villa this season, playing 93% of all minutes. He has helped Villa to the joint best defence of teams outside of the "Super League 6", with just 46 goals conceded this season. The 23-year-old has also outperformed his CB partner Tyrone Mings (according to SofaScore) with a 6.97 rating compared to 6.95. Many have been surprised that Konsa hasn't been called up for England, but I expect it is only a matter of time. He has also been linked with a move to a bigger club this summer with Tottenham apparently keen. Konsa is one of just a handful of Villa regulars who are rated below 88, and so it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to get a +1 when the premier league is reviewed.
Ben White - 23 - CB - 86 > 87
Another very promising young English CB in our ranks is Ben White. As with Konsa, White has played 93% of all league minutes this season starting all but 2 games. Despite Brighton finishing 16th, they were the team to match Villa with the best defence outside of the "Super League 6" with 46 conceded. While a 6.79 average this season is slightly lower than Konsa, the Brighton CB has been named in the provisional England squad. As with most promising youngsters, White has been linked with a host of major clubs, with Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and recently Roma all reportedly after him. The performances of White should comfortably see him to 87, and transfer links and potential England call up may well push him to 88 if we're lucky, but I wont be counting on it.
Axel Disasi - 23 - CB - 86 > 87
CB was always a weakness for us, but now it is one of our most secure positions. Disasi was a big signing for us, and someone who I have very high hopes for. Monaco are back in the Champions League (...qualifiers) having finished 3rd in the league, and have the 4th best defence in France this season. While Disasi hasn't been as regular as my English options, he has still featured in 29 league games with a 6.79 average. He has is also an apparent target of Tottenham and Arsenal. Even following a few year of below par finishes, Monaco player are still generally 88+. With that in mind, Disasi should be hitting 87 in the next few days in the Monaco review. I think his game time will limit him from hitting 88, but it's not out of the question.
Oscar Mingueza - 22 - CB - 83 > 86/87
The signing of Mingueza is still one of the best pick ups I have made during my time in Top 100. Behind Lenglet, Mingueza has been the most played CB played in the league for Barcelona. The youngster started 70% of league games and has featured in a total of 39 matches for Barca this season. A 6.96 average rating highlights the impact that he has had, making him the 2nd best performing CB at the club. He also has the best pass completion (92.9%) for Barcelona players with over 20 games this season, and he is 2nd in the league behind only Toni Kroos. His game time, performance level, versatility and contract extension pin him as a key part of Barcelona's future. He should be hitting 87 in the next few months, but Barcelona's "poor" season and Koeman's decision to give Mingueza just 106 minutes in the last 5 games of the season might see him only reach 86, although it would certainly be harsh.
Full Backs
Rick Karsdorp - 26 - RB - 87 > 88
I was surprised after the last review that Karsdorp didn't rise. I am hoping now that he gets his deserved increase to 88. The 26-year-old has been the starting RB for Roma this season featuring in 34 league games, 10 Europa league matches and the Coppa Italia. 6 assists in the league makes him the joint 2nd most creative player at Roma, and joint 3rd most creative full back in the league. His 6.81 average has also earned him a call up to the Netherlands national team for the first time since 2017. Similarly to our other players, Karsdorp lags behind his team mates in rating, with the majority of Roma regulars being 89+. 88 is almost certain, and 89 may be within reach too.
Ben Johnson - 21 - RB - 78 > 80
While it's not a massive rise, and he's not set the world alight, Johnson has been solid when called upon. He has made 21 senior appearances, featuring at RB, RM, LB, LM and CB. Hopefully he is given more chances moving forward, but I expect a +2 for now.
Federico Dimarco - 23 - LB - 85 > 87
I thought Maouassa was our long term LB solution, but Dimarco may well be challenging him after the reviews. Dimarco was a long term target of mine, and he has certainly shown that he was worth the wait and the (at the time) high fee. The Inter left back has had a successful loan at Hellas scoring 5 and assisting 3 in 34 games. His 7.19 average has made Inter look at him as their future at left back too. Hellas have an option to make the loan permanent, but it is widely reported that a return to Inter will follow. Anyway, for now a +2 is the least he deserves, being the best performing player at Hellas this season.
Central Midfielders
Douglas Luiz - 23 - CM - 89 > 90
I'll start off by saying I'm not sure how likely this one is, but will also explain my reasoning. Luiz has had a solid season, nothing insane, but also not bad by any means. He has featured in 33 league games picking up a 6.9 average. Man City do have a buy back clause, although it apparently looks unlikely that they will activate it. The main push for this rise would be his Brazil inclusion where he has featured in the last 4 games and been included in the Copa America squad. I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed at 89, but I also don't think it would be undeserved for him to hit 90.
Mattia Zaccagni - 25 - CM - 87 > 88
Similarly to Luiz, I am not sure how likely this one is. However, Zaccagni has featured in 36 league games for Hellas scoring 5 goals and assisting 7. These stats make him Hellas' second best player of the season (behind Dimarco) with a 7.08 average rating. Throughout the season he has been linked with Milan, Napoli, Lazio and Roma, so it is sure to be an exciting summer for the midfielder. He deserves to hit 88, but we will have to wait and see.
Iliax Moriba - 18 - CM - 78 > 83
Was he worth all the hype? Yes... yes he was. 14 games, 1 goal, 2 assists and a 6.94 average for Barcelona. The big CM looks like he is the future at Barcelona and is already showing the qualities that would be expected of a much more established player. He has a 91.6% pass completion (de Jong has 91.9%), 0.9 shots per game (the highest of any non-attacker), is the 4th most fouled Barca player per game and completes the 5th most dribbles in the team per 90 minutes. Moriba could be the gem that we build around in the future as long as he can keep up his performances and is given more opportunities.
Jacob Ramsey - 19 - AM - 76 > 82
Similarly to Johnson, Ramsey has had a solid first season to senior football. The midfielder has made 25 senior appearances this season for Villa after starting the season with the U23s. Ramsey has been given more and more opportunities as the campaign has progressed so hopefully this continues. I think anywhere from 80 to 82 would be fine for Ramsey at the moment.
Wingers
Roland Sallai - 24 - RW - 86 > 87
Sallai was signed as a versatile back up option, but looks like he might challenge for a starting spot if he gets his deserved rise. He netted 8 goals this season with a further 6 assists in 28 games for Freiburg. 87 should be coming up for him after a very solid season.
Said Benrahma - 25 - LW - 85 > 86
After a slow start to life at West Ham, Benrahma has finished the season well with a goal and 2 assists in his last 5 games, taking his total season tally to 1 goal and 7 assists. The creative winger is one of the most exciting wingers about but needs to be allowed to be himself. Hopefully West Ham continue to utilise him well in the future and he can produce the form that is expected of him more consistently. It's tricky to predict how SM see him, I wouldn't be surprised to see him stay at 85, but I'd also not be shocked if they gave him a +2, so I'm going with a safe average of +1.
Romaine Faivre - 22 - LW - 83 > 85
Faivre had a great breakout season for Brest after joining from Monaco. The 22-year-old scored 6 and assisted 5 more helping Brest to survival. His performances have seen him earn a 7.2 average rating and links to PSG. If he can replicate his form at a bigger club he will surely be in for a great future. Despite his performances, his a rating will be limited by the stature of Brest and so 85 is probably realistic for now.
Forwards
Gaetan Laborde - 26 - CF - 87 > 88
It has been an incredible season for Laborde who has had his most productive season for goals and assists. The Frenchman finished with 16 goals in the league, making him the 4th highest scorer in the league. He also assisted 8 more goals making him the clubs top scorer and 2nd highest assister. Montpellier also had a solid season finishing in 8th so a rise to 88 is surely in the bag.
Giacomo Raspadori - 21 - CF - 82 > 85
Another one of our promising youths has had a quicker "breakout" than expected. Raspadori was highly rated when he joined and was playing here and there for Sassuolo. He has had an incredible end to the season though picking up 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 appearances. This impressive form has seen him earn a surprise call up to the Italy squad. A solid rise here should put him in contention for a cup squad position for us.
While it isn't our best batch of risers, it should be a solid few weeks with some really nice strength in depth being developed. A few other youngsters such as Ruggeri and Otasowie may well also pick up some rises although it's hard to judge.
While I've listed the positives, we also also have some who I had hoped would have done more this season. Nicolas Gonzalez scored 6 and assisted 2 in 15 games for Stuttgart, but was hampered by injuries which will likely see him stay at 87. Similarly after 6 goals and 2 assists in the first half of the season, Luis Suarez picked up an injury and only scored one more on his return. Maouassa was hampered by injury too and Roberto Lopez wasn't utilised in the second half of the season as much as he was in the early stages.
All 4 are still young though so will hopefully see more production in the future.
As always, it's always very hard to predict SM so we will have to wait and see how these go, and hopefully we see some solid improvements to the team.
Leicester City: Starting from the Bottom!
After a spectacular first season, Leicester City fell back to reality and were relegated at the end of season 14. While most would be disheartened, I believe that this was for the best for myself and Leicester, as it now gives me and the team time with less pressure.
Despite managing Atletico Madrid and Arsenal, Espanyol will always be the team I look back on most fondly, and with Leicester I am hoping to repeat the success I found there, and in a similar fashion too; Starting from the bottom!
Recap - Seasons 13 & 14
I arrived at Leicester after they finished 4th in D4, missing automatic promotion on goal difference and not making it in the playoffs. It was immediately clear that the team was built to "win now", with strong players such as Dimitri Payet and Max Kruse leading the team. However, the success wasn't sustainable, and with me a new transfer policy arrived. Out went the old guard and in came fresh new faces such as Douglas Luiz (86), Yangel Herrera (85) and Nicolas Gonzalez (85) who would take Leicester into the future. Of course this came at the expense of the league position and I fully expected relegation in my first campaign. To the surprise of myself (and many others) we finished 8th, despite being ranked 20th on the pre season ratings. The jump was largely down to the heroics of Oussama Idrissi who netted 9 goals and assisted 15 more. Despite the success, I knew that wasn't an accurate reflection of the squad and readied for season 14 to bring a more realistic league position.
As expected, season14 saw us relegated. But throughout the season the team was strengthened massively. Rick Karsdorp, Robin Knoche Ezri Konsa, Ben White, Axel Disasi and Federico Dimarco all joined to solidify the defence, which up until then had no clear future starters other than Faitout Maouassa. We also made moves to solidify our youth at defence too with the signings of Oscar Mingueza and Kik Pierie. Further up the pitch the likes of Gaetan Laborde, Luis Suarez and Romaine Faivre were added, with youth additions too. However, as mentioned we were relegated. And now, in D5, I really have the opportunity to focus fully on building through youngsters or obscure risers. And with that plan, we have already made wholesale changes in the start of Season 15!
Now - Season 15
After last season I was looking to make changes and made a lot of players available. However, it started off tricky to get anything agreed. After long negotiations I got 2 deals sorted and this past week several more deals have been made. So here's what we've done
Pre-Agreed - these signings were waiting to be completed from deals last season.
- Fillipo Romagna - 23, 86, CB
Romagna is another great young addition to our centre back group adding a cup option with potential to push for a staring spot. The ex-Juventus youth spent the 19/20 season on loan at Sassuolo who had an option to make it permanent. This option was taken up, despite a serious patella rupture which has seen Romagna out for 397 days and counting. The fact that Sassuolo signed him anyway shows a huge amount of faith in the 23-year-old, and hopefully he can return and pick up where he left off.
- Ivan Toney - 25, 85, CF
I had Toney before, but due to squad space he was released (a poor decision). However, we wont dwell on that, the Championship lead scorer is now back and will likely be a cup option for us. He has 28 goal and 9 assists in 38 league games for 3rd place Brentford this season. He has also been heavily linked to West Ham who are fighting for Champions League football. It's an exciting addition and I'm hopeful that he can maintain his form at the next level, whether that's with Brentford (if they get promoted) or elsewhere.
- Aleksa Terzic - 21, 76, LB
Left back is always a tough position to fill, so the addition of Terzic is a nice boost. He's not a well known prospect or an incredibly young one, but at 21 he is the starting left back for Empoli, who are top of Serie B and have 2 games in hand. On top of that, he is already contracted to Serie A side Fiorentina so will have the chance to push into a top division side if he continues to impress.
Senior Team Signings - Despite the struggle at the start, we did get 3 senior options in ahead of this season.
- Gaetan Larsonneur - 24, 86, GK (cost - Hannes Delcroix + Igor Rabello)
Our current number 1 is Marco Silvestri, who I like a lot. But the opportunity to bring in a younger keeper was too tempting. We already have exciting prospects in Hugo Souza, 22, and Ersin Destanoglu, 20, but neither are that close to a staring rating in game. Larsonneur is young and rated close enough to compete now. He has also been linked with Marseille recently, a move that would certainly boost his value and potential. Rabello was unneeded following other defensive signings and, despite being a Belgium international, Delcroix was also surplus to requirements, especially following his season ending injury.
- Mattia Zaccagni - 25, 87, CM (cost - Nayef Aguerd + Kevin Denkey)
After months of trying I was finally able to land Zaccagni. The midfielder is exactly the type of starting player I wanted as he is still young and has a bright future. 5 goals and 5 assists this season have helped Hellas Verona to 8th in the league and a 7.05 average rating. These performances have also earned him links to Napoli, AC Milan and more. I am hopeful that there rumours result in a move and that he can continue his impressive form to a new team. Similarly to Rabello, Aguerd was surplus to requirements despite his impressive season. Denkey was also never a long term option for me.
- Marcus Edwards - 22, 85, Wing (cost - Dennis Geiger)
This was a quickly agreed deal and it could go either way. Edwards had a huge amount of hype when he was younger but strayed from his projected path. In 2019, though, he joined Vitoria de Guimaraes and has since scored 12 goals and assisted 6 more. He still has a long way to go and a lot to prove, but he seems to be back on the correct path. While Geiger is a player I have always loved, his injury record was too worrying for me as he has missed over 50 games (and counting) since 2019 with injury.
Youth Additions - After some thought, I decided to sell some of my higher players for youth prospects
- Sepp van den Berg - 19, 78, CB (cost - 1 of 3 who arrived for Enes Unal)
The excitement around van den Berg when he joined Liverpool was high, but as with any youngster he certainly needed time. He has made 4 cup appearances for Liverpool, but the bulk of his senior game time has come on loan at Preston since joining in January. He has made 10 appearances, with 9 of those being starts at right back. Despite playing out of position, and just a few weeks to settle, the 19-year-old has been impressive with a 6.9 average. Frankie McAvoy has said that he is playing at right back to adjust to the league, so it can be expected that he will get opportunities in the middle moving forward. Preston also have first refusal on van den Berg next season.
- Jacob Ramsey - 19, 76, CAM (cost - 1 of 3 who arrived for Enes Unal)
After a couple of cup appearances off the bench last season, Ramsey has forced himself into first team contention at Aston Villa this season. He has started 4 league games with another 10 appearances off the bench as well as a handful of cup games too. While he still has a lot to improve on, a 19-year-old premier league started is a quality pick up, and is someone I expect a lot from.
- Check Diakite - 18, 74, CM (cost - 1 of 3 who arrived for Unal)
Diakite was the "sweetener" in this deal to get it over the line, but might be one of the most exciting players coming to Leicester this season. Despite being 18, Diakite has been a regular for Paris FC in Ligue 2 this season, starting 44% of games, despite not making his full league debut until game 16. His versatility is a big bonus too, with him being deployed at DM, CM, AM, RM and LM this season already. While it is nothing crazy, he does have a 6.74 average which is solid for such a young player. Paris have a strong history of youth production, with their players often feeding into the top leagues. However, this season they are fighting to get into Ligue 1, as they currently sit 5th, just 4 points behind an automatic promotion spot.
- Owen Otasowie - 20, 73, CM (cost - 1 of 3 who arrived for Ignacio Pussetto)
Despite making 5 appearances for Wolves this season, Otasowie was not someone I knew of until taking a look at Celtic after the enquired about Pussetto. However, what I saw was quite interesting. The midfielder stands at 188cm making him a dominant presence and Nuno Espirito Santo has said that he has big plans for Otasowie. The 20-year-old also made his USA debut in November, adding an extra boost to a positive season.
- Marcelo Pitaluga - 18, 70, GK (cost - 1 of 3 who arrived for Ignacio Pussetto)
Another one who I didn't know too much about was Pitaluga, but upon looking into him he was somewon I wanted immediately. He adds a long term youth keeper option and will have amazing opportunities to develop since joining Liverpool in September. On top of that, while my ability to look into him was limited, I trust the scouts of Liverpool. Whether his future is at Liverpool or elsewhere, he is a very promising option and hopefully can get a loan move to pick up senior game time.
- Lasse Gunther - 18, 67, Wing (cost - 1 of 3 who arrived for Ignacio Pussetto)
Similar to the previous 2, Gunther isn't someone that I knew much of before researching him for this deal. He has been at Bayern since 2016 picking up 15 goals and 11 assists in 50 youth games. From these performances he has been likened to Arjen Robben, which is strong praise. His contract is up this summer, so it will be interesting to see if he stays at Bayern, or looks elsewhere to potentially move into a senior set up. However, at 18 there is no real rush.
- Alessandro Buongiorno - 21, 80, CB (cost - 1 of 2 who arrived for Barberan Maycon)
After a decent loan at Carpi FC last season, Buongiorno has been in and around the 1st team at Torino. He has made 8 appearances, including 7 starts for the Serie A side. While, this isn't a huge amount of game time it is certainly something to build on. He already has a solid in game rating and can hopefully earn increased game time, especially after impressive displays against Fiorentina and Juventus.
- Sontje Hansen - 18, 75, CF (cost - 1 of 2 who arrived for Barberan Maycon)
I wasn't too sure what position to put for Hansen as he has featured as a CF, RW, LW and CAM this season alone. Any youth out of Ajax is exciting, but that excitement is enhanced when the player is included on the NXGN 2021 Wonderkids list. Since arriving at Ajax in 2013 Hansen has scored 30 goals with 28 assists throughout the U17, U19 and U21 levels. He has also already made his Eredivisie debut, albeit off the bench. Hansen immediately becomes one of our most promising prospects.
- Matteo Ruggeri - 18, 76, LB (cost - Niklas Dorsch + Christian Lenz)
OUCH! That was a lot to pay for Ruggeri, I know! But I believe he has outstanding potential. Atalanta are a team that I love and have a great attacking style of play. At 18, Ruggeri is already a genuine senior option, making 8 appearances this season, including 2 in the Champions League. With Atalanta 3rd in the table, many top clubs will be circling to pick up their stars. This is likely to pave a way for their youngsters to step up and take starting roles, and if that is to be the case its hard to look further than Ruggeri. He could be the left back of our future, even with the likes of Maouassa and Dimarco here already.
- Soumaila Coulibaly - 17, 70, CB (cost - £599k, free agent acquisition)
After winning Shola Shoretire in February I thought my free agent luck was all used up, however, we somehow managed to win highly sought after Soumaila Coulibaly, despite over 25 other bids. Coulibaly is a long term PSG youth who joined the growing list of teenagers departing the French club in hopes of accelerating their careers. Despite the efforts of PSG to tie him down to a long term contract, and the efforts of Manchester United to bring him to England, Coulibaly opted to sign for Dortmund, following in the footsteps of Dan-Axel Zagadou. Dortmund have been happy to hand opportunities to players who deserve them, regardless of age. They currently have just Akanji, Zagadou and Hummels listed as their senior centre backs, with Balerdi out on loan. If Dortmund don't sign an extra CB, Coulibaly may well be hopeful that he will get senior opportunities. He also referenced the fact that he will be training with the senior team as one of the key factors in his decision.
So there we have it! All of our business up until now. I am still hoping to get another deal done for squad cap purposes, but nothing has yet been agreed.
This season I will be playing with a formation which accommodates as many of my "key" players as possible, even if it is limited by the SM match engine. This is to keep them all happy as the team grows. Iliax Moriba and Oscar Mingueza are likely to be 2 players who I structure my team around as we move forward with others slotting into my "untouchable" slots when they prove themselves.
We have a long way to go, and as of now many things could go wrong, but I believe that this is an extremely promising team with great starting and back up options across the pitch, as well as a handful of youth gems.
I am already looking forward to the end of season reviews and summer transfer window as I think there will be lots of rating movement and transfer movement for my guys!
Who's in Review?
The big reviews are always something to look forward to, especially if you rely heavily on them for team improvement, rather than buying in the big ratings. This makes it even more vital for smaller teams such as us at Leicester City. It was similar when I was at Espanyol, and played a big part in the long term success I had there, and I am hopeful of replicating that here!
So far, however, this series of reviews has seemed quite tough to predict, with the French review seeming slightly harsher than expected. This is most likely due to how early into the season the reviews have started, with just 14 Ligue 1 games completed. If this is the reason, then other leagues will likely follow suit, with between 11 and 14 games completed in the Top 5 leagues.
Despite this, we all have hopes or expectations for our players and with that in mind, here is what I hope to see at Leicester City from the Top 5 league reviews.
Keepers
Andrea Consigli - 88/89
Currently 87, I'm expecting Consigli to rise to 88, or potentially push for 89. The 33-year-old is the number 1 at Sassuolo who are 5th in Serie A, 2 points off 2nd and 5 points off 1st. The performances of the team should see a few in the squad rise, and Consigli is surely one of them. He is currently the highest rated keeper (with more than 2 appearances) in all Top 5 leagues, with a 7.16 average . The team currently have just 1 89 rated player, but I'd expect that to increase to 4 or 5 in this review, and hopefully Consigli will be amongst them, despite the SM age bias.
Antonio Mirante - 88/89
Also currently 87, Mirante surely deserves 88, with an outside chance of 89. He's shocked many this season by taking the staring spot at Roma, despite being 37, and so far has looked impressive. 4 clean sheets in 9 games make him one of the top keepers in Serie A this season, and with Roma currently in 6th he's sure to rise.
Gregor Kobel - 86
As stated earlier, these are hard to predict due to the early stages of the season, but Kobel surely has a shot at a rise as Stuttgart sit in 7th in the Bundesliga while Kobel boasts a 6.81 average rating. He got a +2 in July which could limit him but it certainly wouldn't be unwarranted if he was to hit 86.
Centre Backs
David Garcia - 87
Garcia is someone who I am very hopeful can rise to 87. I picked him up rated 85 and he rose to 86 in the last review and is fully deserving of 87 now. his 7.09 average rating makes him the 3rd best performing centre back (with more than 2 appearances) in LaLiga, and best for players with over 10 games. The issue is Osasuna sit bottom of the league, which could snatch a rise away from him. However, the fact that the team are bottom makes his performances even more impressive and just two wins could see them rise into the top half.
Liam Cooper - 85/86
Leeds currently sit 14th in the Premier League after some inconsistent form. What has been consistent, though, is the form of club captain Liam Cooper. His 9 league games have seen him average a 6.94 with only 2 performances meriting less than 6.75. Some form of rise is sure to come and a +2 86 would not be undeserved.
Koray Gunter - 84/85
The fact that Gunter only got a +1 to 83 last time around is ridiculous considering he made 32 appearances for 9th place Hellas Verona with a rating of 6.75, while his CB partners Kumbulla and Rrahmani hit 85 and 86 respectively. Oh well, he'll do great this season, right? Well yes, and no... a 7.61 average makes him, by performance, the best centre back in Serie A this season, but this has come from just 3 starts as he missed 2 games due to Coronavirus, and picked up an injury upon his return which he has only just recovered from. Hopefully he gets some sort of rise as he surely deserves it from last season anyway, and has shown he's performing well this year too when fit.
Tiago Djalo - 82
A big thing for me when Djalo joined was the lack of depth at the back for Lille which I thought would give him chances at the back. He went completely unused until game 11 though. Since then he has made 7 appearances, 4 of which have been starts. He's being used at right back primarily with 3/4 of his starts there. While he's not been outstanding, he has been solid and so should merit a small of around +2.
Oscar Mingueza - 80
Despite not being here yet, Mingueza is a Leicester City player and will be joining in January. It always catches attention when a youngster breaks into the Barcelona squad, and that alone might have seen SM give him a rise. However, his performances also give another reason that he deserves a rise. In his 3 full 90 minutes he averaged a 7.41 and picked up an assist which made me very hopeful for his development. Since then though he has dropped to more expected levels. Despite this, his involvement in the Barcelona senior squad will be helpful for his long term development and I'm hoping he can rise from 75 and hit 80 in the review. On a separate note, his contract ends this summer and he may opt to move away for more game time if he does drop out of the senior team again.
Full Backs
Matty Cash - 86/87
Despite being rated 85, Cash is already my starting right back as I'm hoping to prepare him ahead of his rise. Cash has started all 10 of Aston Villa's Premier League games and earned an average rating of 7.11. In 6 of these 10 games he has been rated over 7 (2 in the 7.8's and 1 8.4). Despite Villa currently being 11th, they do have 2 games in hand which could see them up to 3rd. 86 is a certainty, and I wouldn't be surprised to see 87 if Villa do utilise their games in hand.
Maxime Busi - 83/84
After impressing for Charleroi last season and at the start of this season, Busi was signed by Serie A side Parma. He had an injury when he arrived but has played in the past 4 league matches and in the Coppa Italia. At Charleroi this season (before his move) he had a 7.18 average so hopefully he can get to that level at Parma too. He got a rise to 82 in October thought so might not rise until doing a bit more.
Christopher Lenz - 86
Union Berlin have been one of the surprises of the season in the Bundesliga and Lenz himself has played a big part in that. He's started all 12 of their league games, registered 2 assists and got a 6.96 average rating. A +2 to 86 certainly would be deserved given both the performance of the team and Lenz.
Federico Dimarco - 85/86
I was very happy when we were able to sign Dimarco this season. The Inter academy graduate had a productive loan spell at Hellas during the 2nd half of last season and has returned this season where he has been great. In his 10 league appearances he has averaged 7.13 and assisted 3 goals. That makes him the 2nd best left back in Serie A (with over 5 appearances). Hellas are 7th at the moment which is very strong and could lead to some bigger rating boosts if they remain consistent. From 83, Dimarco is probably looking at a +2, but could get a +3. I'm hoping long term Dimarco takes the spot at Inter since their current options are getting on a bit.
Centre Midfield
Douglas Luiz - 88/89
I have had quite a bit of interest in Luiz this season, unsurprisingly, but I've been determined to keep hold of him. He's started all 10 league games for Villa this season remaining relatively consistent throughout other than one or two dips and one or two especially good performances. His form at Villa should see him to 88. However, he's been a regular for Brazil in their World Cup Qualifying campaign which has certainly boosted his chances at a further rise to 89. On top of that he is also linked with a return to Manchester City, and rumours like that have been attributed to rises in SM in the past.
Yangel Herrera - 87/88
Similarly to Gunter, I was quite surprised that Herrera only got a +1 last time out. He was the best player for Granada with a 6.95 average last season, with 2 goals and 3 assists in his 30 games, and while others such as Machis got a +2, Herrera didn't. This season he has continued his great form with 3 goals in 16 games and an average rating of 7.00. Granada got through the Europa League group stages and are currently in 6th in LaLiga meaning they could be in for rating boosts across the squad. I think he should have been 87 in the last review so hope he gets up to 88 this time around but we will see.
Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro - 85
Akpa Akpro joined Lazio at the start of this season and it was unclear what sort of role he'd play. However, so far he has missed just 1 game that he has been available for (one more through suspension). He has started only 4 games which will be the biggest limiter of how much he can rise, but other than that he has proven very useful for Lazio in both the league and Champions League.
Martin Zubimendi - 83/84/85
This one is probably the hardest to predict. After breaking into the senior squad last season, he has continued to impress. He missed the first 2 games of the season through injury but has since featured in every game. He has an average rating of 7.13 in games that he's started and Real Sociedad currently sit top of LaLiga. He has started just 9 of his 17 appearances this season, which could limit how high he rises. I'd be content with 83, but do hope for a little higher. Either way he's one of my brightest prospects for the future.
Jean Lucas - 83/84
Lyon look to be back to their best this season as they sit in 2nd in Ligue 1. Jean Lucas has played a minor role in this, staring 1 game and appearing as a sub in 5 more. While this isn't a huge amount, he may get a +1 or +2. If not it wouldn't be too surprising, but it also wouldn't be too generous if he got a rise.
Romain Faivre - 83
Faivre already got his rise to 83 but I thought I'd include him anyway. He joined Brest from Monaco at the start of the season and has since scored 3, assisted 2 and averaged a rating of 7.44 in his 14 games. No doubt if he continues in this form he'll rise further, but will remain limited by the Brest team ratings.
Wingers
Darwin Machis - 88
Machis is already a key player for me and I think he has a good shot at 88. 5 goals and 3 assists in 20 games so far this season have helped Granada to 6th in the league and through the Europa League group stages. He has also featured in every game in these two competitions this season earing a 7.28 average from the games that he has started. As suggested before, I think Granada could get good squad bump, and Machis should surely be one of those best rewarded.
Alberto Soro - 83/84
Soro hasn't started a league game this season for Granada but has started 3 in the Europa League and made 9 more appearances in all competitions off the bench. He's picked up an assist and a goal and looks to be getting more opportunities. Similarly to a few others, he could rise, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.
Forwards
Luis Suarez - 86/87
Another on who hasn't joined yet but will in January. Suarez was the record signing for Granada and has played in every game this season with 8 starts and 7 sub appearances. Despite a slower start in the league, he has scored in his past 3 league matches, adding to his 2 in the Europa League. In his 8 starts he has an average rating of 7.25 and also, as mentioned, he plays for Granada who have grown massively as a team over the past year. So I'd expect 86, maybe 87 if he keeps up his form for the next few games.
Nicolas Gonzalez - 86/87
This is another one which has been limited by injuries. Gonzalez has missed 5 games through injury but has shown his quality when he is playing. He's made just 3 starts but has been brought on off the bench a further 4 times. He's scored 4 goals and assisted 1 so far and has a 7.8 average rating from starts. As mentioned earlier, Stuttgart are 7th meaning they could get some nice rises coming up. He's also played for Argentina in the past which highlights his quality.
Josh Sargent - 85/86
Sargent is a really promising youth for me and someone I am hoping can really push on this season and next. He's the main man up top at Werder Bremen and has missed only 1 game this season. Werder are having a tough season and Sargent has just 1 league goal and 2 assists. Despite this, he has a respectable 6.84 average from his 11 games. His game time should get him up to 85 at least and he may just sneak an 86 if he's lucky. Hopefully he can start picking up some more goals, but that could be down to the team rather than Sargent himself.
Obviously all of these are my own opinion. Most of my knowledge comes from stats from multiple websites rather than watching them all. As mentioned, I think this series of reviews is quite early so could be tricky to predict but I'm hopeful that most of these come in.
We've got a strong focus on building for the future and even some of the "lower" rises (82-85) can be huge in setting up future rises.
Should be an interesting few weeks for all clubs, as this often shakes up the market too.
Leicester City: On The UP!
Leicester City have finished their season in 8th place, shocking fans, pundits and staff in doing so. Despite sitting in 7th at mid-season, and missing out on the play-off spots by just 1 point, there can be no complaints from anyone associated with the club. Leicester were pegged to be rock bottom before the season kicked off as per the "Season 13 Division 4 Stats and Facts" report, a view shared by the chairman who's only goal (more a hope) was to avoid relegation. The preseason report had Leicester rated 1.29 lower than Malaga in 19th. Within that same margin (1.29) above Malaga, there were 10 teams, showing just how far behind Leicester were on paper. Despite this, a quick start and several key signings meant the Foxes shocked the division finishing 12 places above their expected position. So how did the season unfold?
The Numbers
54 - The total points tally for the season was expected to be between 35 to 40 before the season began, but the team impressed many and finished with 54 points. Considering the huge changes in the team and drop in squad rating, a drop of just 6 points from Season 12 is incredible, especially considering the team is still in a phase of rebuilding.
36 - Leicester City were the joint 2nd lowest scoring team in the division, netting only 36 goals. This was equal to Athletic Club, who finished 20th, and 1 more than PSV who finished 16th. Of all of these goals, Oussama Idrissi was directly involved in 24, showing the teams over reliability on just one player.
39 - Despite their poor attacking figures, Leicester did boast the joint 5th best defence in the league, conceding just 39 goals. The arrival of Luigi Sepe is believed to have played a large part in this figure, with the keeper earning an average rating of 6.95 and being voted man of the match 5 times.
66 - Throughout the season Earle has been trying to put the team in the best position possible as they move forward, part of that process has been the completion of 66 transfer deals, with another 1 already agreed for the start of next week.
9 goals, 15 assists
Where Are They Now?
Of the staring XI from the first game of the season, only 3 remain at the club, and only 2 are playing regularly. Goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski was sold to Sampdoria after 16 games, with Luigi Sepe coming the other way. Skorupski has been making issues in Italy, complaining about a lack of game time, despite featuring in all 22 games since he arrived. Wing backs Joel Andersson and Eder Balanta were both sold and are still working to find their feet at their new clubs while Alessandro Bastoni has returned to Genoa following his loan. He was one of the brightest players for the Foxes this season and will be hard to replace. His centre back partner and club captain Bonfim Dante also moved on, joining Besiktas in their Division 5 fight for promotion. John Fleck made his long awaited move to Internazionale, while Irfan Kahveci joined West Ham United, despite being labelled as off limits earlier in the season. And finally Ze Luis Joined Partizan as part of a deal to bring a new left back to Leicester. The striker has made just 6 appearances for the Division 5 team. Sander Berge and Oussama Idrissi have both remained key players throughout the season, missing just 1 game each in the league. Remi Oudin has also stayed, but has made just 9 starts in all competitions.
The Season to Come.
The upcoming season is expected to be slightly calmer than this season. Earle believes he has a great mix of youth and experience, but is also aware that improvements are still needed. The team has undergone a full restructure over the past few weeks, with an emphasis on bringing in youth talent, which has cost several senior squad players their spots. Despite this, the 1st team is looking strong. Last seasons player of the year Oussame Idrissi has signed an extension, with Douglas Luiz, Sander Berge and Faitout Maouassa all following suit. On top of these extensions, Mouctar Diakhaby and Enes Unal both joined creating a solid core of young players in the starting line up. Darwin Machis and Luigi Sepe also look likely to retain their positions following good campaigns from both. Filling out the staring XI is expected to be Paolo Farago, Robin Knoche and Jhon Cordoba. However, there will be tougher competition for places this season with Tony Jantschke and Nivaldo Jardel experienced options at the back and Derlis Gonzalez offering versatility and talent up front. These are not the only depth options however, and Earle is hopeful that throughout the season other players will step up and challenge for starting roles. Yangel Herrera is still seen as one of the most promising midfielders in the squad. While his opportunities have been limited so far, fans and pundits believe that he will be given a chance this season and potentially push for a more permanent role. David Garcia, Gael Kakuta, Angelo Fulgini, Remi Oudin and more will also be hoping to come into contention.
High expectations!
Youth Focus
Improving the staring XI usually comes at the cost of youth prospects. This, however, has been avoided, and the Foxes youth squad looks to be in its strongest position since Earle arrived. Retaining the three big names was always going to be a challenge with Josh Sargent, Carlos Cuesta and Luis Sinisterra all attracting interest. Despite this, they all remained, along with the equally promising quartet of Maxime Busi, Martin Zubimendi, Dominik Fitz and Paul Nebel. So far there have been 6 new U21 additions to the squad, with several more still being followed. The landmark signing was Kik Pierie from Leverkusen, costing just £5,000,000. The 20-year-old is expected to partner Carlos Cuesta at centre back for the youth competitions, but will likely see most of his senior action at left back this season. Following him in were midfield trio Noah Diliberto, Nikolas Nartey and Daan Huisman. Diliberto and Nartey are likely to compete for a starting youth spot while Huisman will need to develop more before becoming an option. The defence was improved further with the capture of Leo Greiml from SK Rapid Wien. The 19-year-old will provide back up at centre back, but could get game time if a youth left back doesn't join. Finally, Hugo Souza arrived from Flamengo. The Brazilian keeper is someone Earle expects to see a lot from in the future and will need to show his ability in the youth team. In Souza, Leicester will hope that they have secured a long term option, although he still has a long way to go.
Onwards and Upwards
The season has been a complete success for Leicester. Not only have they performed better than expected, they did so while bringing in younger starting options and retaining, and building on, the clubs future. It seems obvious next season that more goals are needed to propel the team forward. However, it would be foolish to assume that this is a team who will regularly push for the play offs. It is likely that next season will be tougher, but it is key that Earle sticks to his plans and maintains a clear focus on the teams long term objectives.
Leicester City! Then and Now!
If you had told a Leicester City fan, or any other fan for that matter, that the club would be in 7th after 19 games, they would have laughed you out of the room. Yet now, at the mid way point, Leicester are there in a play-off position. So, why is it so shocking that a team who missed out on promotion by a goal difference of 2, and missed out on the title by only 2 points are now in 7th?
At the end of last season, Nick Wheels left the club after just 11 games. He became the 5th manager in under a year to leave the club after less than 50 games. Despite this, the club looked to be in a strong, short term position with the likes of Max Kruse, Dimitri Payet, Rodrigo Caio, Hans Vanaken all in the squad. However, the arrival of Earle brought a new direction to the club. Despite the potential for imminent success, the club had no real future and no clear transfer policy. This changed immediately as almost all of the former players were put up for sale.
Payet who had scored 9 and assisted 10 left for Manchester United. Kruse, despite scoring 10 and assisting 9 also left, moved to Swansea City. Following both out the door was Vanaken who had also had an impressive season with 4 goals and 9 assists joined Aston Villa and key defenders Caio and Moses joined PSG and Bordeaux. Further sales included Amavi, Mammana, Steffen, Schneiderlin and Obiang, leaving just three original players in the starting line up for the start of the season. Two of these have also since been sold. All of these departures saw "lesser" players brought in as replacements, leaving many concerned for the season ahead. The preseason "Division 4 Stats and Facts" had Leicester last by some distance. Few fans, pundits, or even players could disagree with the predictions. But the teamhave impressed, and the transfer policy has paid off more quickly than expected.
With the build underway, Leicester City have already acquired several players that they deem key to the future. Sander Berge joined from Manchester United and has started all 19 games so far, netting twice in that time. The 22-year-old has taken over as captain since the recent departure of Bonfim Dante. While his partners this season have shuffled, it looks as though moving forward the club will rely on Yangel Herrera. The Venezuelan also joined from Manchester United but has had a slower start to life at the club. The 22-year-old has made just 3 starts, none of which have been in the league. Despite this, Earle has rejected interest from several clubs, suggesting he has big plans for the midfielder. Ahead of them in the more advanced midfield role, Ifran Kahveci has been the clear favourite. Earle made two attempts to bring the Turkish midfielder to Atletico Madrid, but failed both times. However, now that he has him in the team he will be determined to hold onto him. The stand out performer so far has been Oussame Idrissi who has scored 5 and assisted 6 from the wing. The 24-year-old has played every league game since arriving from AZ and will be hoping to continue his fine form into the 2nd half of the season. The final player in the starting XI who is on this list ins Faitout Maouassa. The 22-year-old left back was someone that many believed would be out of reach for a team such a Leicester, but his shock arrival delighted fans who were unsure who their number 1 left back was before his arrival. The Fenchman has started all of the games since he arrived and is likely to face very little competition for the position. Nicolas Gonzalez and Luis Sinisterra are also believed to be off limits for the time being.
Despite some impressive additions, the club are still looking to solidify some positions. Goalkeeper has remained an area of interest with Lucasz Skorupski starting the season but being swapped out for Luigi Sepe recently. However, to say Sepe is the clear number 1 would be too easy. Robin Zentner joined at the start of the season and has improved quickly already, and Jesse Joronen was also brought in to add further depth to a strong position. For now the impressive form of Sepe will keep him safe. but he will be wary that any drop could see him dropped. Centre back is another position that Earle is working hard to improve. Bonfim Dante started the season as the main option but has since been traded for the younger Jacinto Bastos. The second position has been shared between Alessandro Bastoni and David Garcia. Bastoni has been the preferred option, but Earle is wary that the club will need to find a longer term option once his loan ends. Joe Worrall, Philippe Sandler and Carlos Cuesta have all arrived in an attempt to sure up the position for the future, but the club will still be after some more immediate options too, for next season. A top striker is also something the club is searching for. Florian Niederlechner is currently the starter up top and has netted 3 goals in 8 starts. His promising start has left Leicester fans pleased but the club are still hoping to pick up a younger, more clinical option. Nicolas Gonzalez is a promising option, but Earle doesn't believe the Argentine is ready to lead the line yet.
Earle has also been working to put together a youth side to be entered into next seasons Youth Cup. Colombian duo Luis Sinisterra and Carlos Cuesta look the stars of the group so far with other notable prospects such as Josh Sargent, Yassine Benrahou and Steven Alzate available too. Big boosts came when Martin Zubimendi and Paul Nebel chose to join Leicester ahead of a host of other teams. All that is left to add is a goalkeeper, a task the scouting department are working hard on.
9 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses have Leicester sat on 29 points, an impressive number given last years total of 60. This was largely aided by an unbeaten run at the star of the season running 6 games and including 4 wins. While form has dropped off since, the team have done well to snatch wins against better opposition and maintain their impressive position in the league. While reality will surely sink back in soon, the club are in a fantastic position to move forward with a young and promising squad.
Atlético future transfers
July 13th. Leandro Paredes to Atlético, Arne Maier and Emmanuel Dennis to Manchester United.
July 24th. Jean-Paul Boetius to Atlético, João Miranda to Leicester City.
