Your Leicester City questions answered on the futures of Harry Souttar, Victor Kristiansen, Luke Thomas, and Kelechi Iheanacho, and where new signings might be needed.
It was not that long ago that the signings of Harry Souttar and Victor Kristiansen, two up-and-coming talents, were being hailed as positive steps for Leicester City’s transfer business. Now, their futures at the club are in a precarious position.
Why that is the case is one of the topics on our recent fan Q+A. Also discussed were the futures of Luke Thomas and Kelechi Iheanacho, whether Ben Nelson will get a chance, the positions that still need strengthening, and much more. You can read our answers below.
Q: What is the situation with Luke Thomas? Will he be looking to go out of the club or does he have a place in Maresca’s plans?
A: It’s one that’s in the balance. Initially I thought that Thomas would be a contender to go such has been his lack of minutes, but now I don’t think it’s out of the question he could stay. He was on the bench for the first time on Saturday and when I spoke to Maresca about some of the young players in the team, of his own accord, he brought up how it was unfortunate that he hadn’t been able to give Thomas any game-time yet. It struck me as an olve branch of sorts, suggesting he wants him in his squad but just hasn’t had a chance to use him yet.
My only concern is that I don’t really know where he fits. It’s the same with Kristiansen too. They are both traditional full-backs, and Maresca doesn’t really use those. Either they need to be able to drop into a back three, as Justin can do, or they need to be able to move into midfield, as Ricardo is doing. I’m not sure which role would be better for Thomas and Kristiansen.
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Q: Do you believe Iheanacho will more than likely stay? Can you see us getting a new centre forward if any leave?
A: Now it’s reached this point, yes, I think Iheanacho is more likely to stay than not. But it’s not certain. I still think if a decent offer comes in, City may be tempted by it, given he does only have one year remaining on his contract. Maresca said last week that a new contract for Iheanacho was one of the topics on the table, but that the club needed to establish if he was interested. I think he fits the way Maresca wants to play, and will score plenty this season, so the manager will want him to remain.
Certainly if Iheanacho goes, I can see them moving for another striker, yes, possibly Piroe at Swansea, although it seems they are trying to tie him down to a new deal. If Daka goes, it’s less certain that another striker would come in. I know that would leave City with just Vardy and Iheanacho, but Maresca used Praet as a false nine against Burton, and I think he would do that with other midfielders.
Q: There are a lot of rumours going about who we are looking to buy/loan. Realistically who do you think will come in?
A: Rak-Sakyi is their preferred target for the right wing as far as I understand, but there is a shortlist of options and if Palace do not look like sanctioning a loan, then they will move on. But I am confident they will at least get a winger in before the deadline, and a centre-back too. Harwood-Bellis is an option, but it may be that Man City are selling him now, rather than loaning, which may make things more difficult. There’s Edwards at Peterborough too who could be targeted. Beyond that, I do think City will want another midfielder, especially with a few potentially leaving in that role. Chair at QPR would fit what Maresca wants from an attacking number eight.
Q: Winks seems so critical to the way Maresca wants to play but I don’t see a natural stand-in for him in the team. Do you think this might be a focus for a transfer?
A: I totally agree with you on Winks. Him playing, and him playing well, seems integral to Maresca’s system working, and you’re right, there’s not anybody who could do an adequate job of filling that role. I think the most natural player to play there is Braybrooke, and I do think he would be good enough to be Winks’ deputy there. But recovering from an ACL tear will take time. He’s due to be back in light training at the end of the month, and then it’s going to be another couple of months before he can think about playing development squad games again. So realistically, he’s not going to be around until the second half of the season. Can they get by without a Winks back-up until then? I’m not sure. I do think, after a winger and a centre-back, that they need another midfield, so maybe somebody who could play in the Winks role or as a number eight would be the best option. It’s something I plan to speak to Maresca about.
Q: Also do you think Ben Nelson will get any game time given how highly he’s rated?
A: It’s interesting with Nelson. Speak to people around the club and you get the impression he is one of, if not the most highly-rated young player they have, alongside Braybrooke and Alves. There was always a reluctance on Rodgers’ part to play him, even when they were desperately short of fit defenders, because he didn’t want to put him in before he was ready and potentially damage his career. But now he’s played League Two football – he played the most minutes in the division of any player born in 2004 or later – I would say he is ready, given McAteer and Stolarczyk have managed to hold their own having only played at that level previously.
With Coady injured, Faes-Vestergaard-Doyle is the first-choice trio as things stand, and then Justin would be the first back-up. But then it’s Nelson. So he’s maybe two injuries away from playing. I don’t think Maresca would hesitate as much as Rodgers did.
Q: Given the amount of players that need to leave, should the club not be sacrificing the odd million in order to focus on getting the players that Maresca wants?
A: Yes, they should probably just be moving players on at this point, even if fees aren’t what they’d imagined they would be. It was a problem for them last summer, being too stubborn over asking prices, and it meant they did not freshen up the squad enough. Sometimes, they need to just cut their losses, admit the transfers were bad deals and get back whatever they can. Although, I do think for the likes of Souttar and Kristiansen, loans would make more sense. I don’t think we’ve seen enough of them to say they are duds, and under another manager, they could be important players. What I would add though is that City have definitely changed their valuations a little. They came into the summer wanting £60m for Maddison, so they are willing to be knocked down.
Q: Do you think the first first games of the season has changed your opinion on a title charge?
A: Yes, I would say my opinion has changed. At the start of the summer, when there was so much to do in terms of organising the squad (and to be fair, I do think there is still a decent amount of work to be done), I was predicting City to finish eighth. After seeing them in pre-season and the business they had done to that point, I said they’d finish fourth. Based on the first two Championship games, I do think a title charge is possible. I predict they will be in the automatic promotion race until at least the final month of the season, if not clinching either first or second. The clear style of play, the way the players have bought into it and adapted to it, and that there is still so much scope for improvement have been the biggest factors in me feeling more optimistic.
Q: I hear City are looking at Brìghton striker Zeqiri. Do you think that we will get him?
A: I don’t think they will go for a striker unless one of the three are sold, and I don’t think it’s a certainty that they will go for one even if Daka does end up leaving. What I think the club would like about Zeqiri is that he plays out wide too. Particularly when he was at Lausanne a few years ago, he played off the left wing a lot, and I think the club would like that versatility. But right now I’d say it’s unlikely that a deal would be done, especially with Ligue 1 interest in him.
Q: Bit of pessimism here though it comes from a positive start. I suspect if we get promoted first time of asking, a big Italian team will poach Enzo. How does Rudkin find a successor who understands and can implement a playing style that very few managers now know?
A: I wouldn’t rule that out, but what I would say is that Maresca has been very clear that what he wants to do as a manager is to stay at the same club for five years and have a true legacy there. So I suspect that if he got Leicester promoted, he would want to stay. But yes, I imagine, because of his links to Guardiola and his career as a player, there would be clubs in Italy and Spain quite keen on having him as their manager if he was an instant success at City.
But I think if City do have to find a successor, they shouldn’t have too much trouble. Guardiola’s influence on the game is so wide that there will be a lot of potential managers who would play a similar style of football to the one he and Maresca play. It wouldn’t be exactly the same, but it wouldn’t be too much of an adjustment, much in the same way it has been too much of an adjustment from Rodgers to Maresca. The biggest leap City have had to make in terms of play style was when Puel came in.
Q: I am a little surprised that Kristiansen and Souttar were pushed out so fast. Seems like they never had much of a chance and I thought souttar had the potential to be better. Are these two just not fitting the manager’s style?
A: Basically, yes. With Souttar, if he’s going to play in the defence, he has to play in the middle of the back three, because he doesn’t have the pace to play either side. At the moment Maresca thinks Coady and Vestergaard are better options for that role than Souttar is, mainly because of their passing ability. I think the Coventry game showed up Vestergaard’s weaknesses at the start of the second half, and I think Souttar would have dealt with those counter-attacks better, but it’s clear Maresca is thinking about the 70 per cent of the time that City are going to have the ball, and he deems Vestergaard a better fit for that period in possession. Personally, I’d prefer to see Souttar playing. I think his on-the-ball play is pretty decent, and at least he wants to stay at the club, which Vestergaard doesn’t.
With Kristiansen, it’s a case of him not being suited to either of the two roles a full-back under Maresca needs to play. He either needs to be able to move into midfield and play there, or drop in as one of the back three. I think he would be better at the latter, but not as good as Justin at it.
Q: With the wage bill still at Premier league level, how long can we do business before it starts to become a very serious problem? Do you think that promotion this season is a must? Do you think that Top will learn from all this and start to employ people at wage levels the club can afford?
A: Leicester’s wage bill was the seventh highest in the Premier League at the latest figures we have, but that was for two seasons ago. With the eight players leaving for free, and with Maddison and Barnes sold, and with only four players signed on permanent deals, they will definitely have reduced it considerably, but probably not yet to a point where it would be sustainable at Championship level over a number of years. If they don’t go up, expect more sales next summer. So no, promotion this season isn’t a must. It’s not like the club will go bust the moment they finish seventh or lose in the play-offs, but they would have to adapt again next summer.
I think the club will still see heavy wage expenditure on players as a route to challenging at the top, but it does create problems in that when those players are deemed not good enough, it’s hard to offload them, because their wages can’t be matched anywhere else. I think they will have learned not to pay a manager as much as they paid Rodgers, albeit he wasn’t on as much as was reported.
