Pandora’s box of finances and contract upheaval: How desirable is this Leicester squad?
Last summer, we ranked the squad through Enzo Maresca’s eyes, but how does the current squad, amidst other factors, look to prospective managerial targets and what will the eventual successful think?
We started thinking about the transition to Premier League life with this squad back in January. Of course that was while we were still sitting pretty with a gap to our rivals, before a clapper got jammed in the Marescalator and we tripped ourselves up for a while.
What looked like a squad that might be ok, with a few additions and swift resolution on expired contracts, feels pretty different now taking into account the difficulties we made for ourselves as the season progressed and the financial situation got more public and more grim.
That assessment was also on the assumption that Enzo Maresca would commit to the idea and see the job through a little longer. While we’re assuming the next manager the club select will have a similar philosophy if we were to go more left field, the squad requirements could shift again. It’s crystal ball time a little in that respect.
But if you’re a prospective candidate for the Leicester City job, how concerned would you be that our two previous managers publicly maligned the club for either covering up the extent of our financial predicament or outright just not telling them about it?
Presumably the club will have learnt some lessons from that (we can dream) and anybody interviewing would be within their rights to demand an idea of just what money there is and what sales may be necessary. It isn’t just the pandora’s box of finances though. How enticing is the current squad and how many red flags will it give those coming in for the task ahead?
How many of our current crop feel Premier League ready and can we paper over how big the gaps look in certain areas? Let’s take a look at the current squad who are still contracted to be with us come August.
Goalkeepers
If you can fall in love on a first glance, then Mads Hermansen will have any prospective manager breathing a big sigh of relief, and probably immediately scanning his Instagram feed for cute dog content. Assuming holding on to Mads is a priority for the club, your first name on the team sheet is assured.
There’s a pretty decent back-up option too in Jakub Stolarczyk. Ok, he isn’t proven at this level as such but his outings in the cup games did him proud and if he can keep learning from our main Dane, then this looks ok, right. One of the areas for the next boss to essentially ignore as it’s taken care of.
Hang on…what’s this? There’s two more goalkeepers who have barely made a matchday squad for the last twelve months? And one of them has the number one? I have some sympathy for Daniel Iversen whose only real crime is not playing out with his feet. But we don’t need him and while Stoke derailed our plans to offload him there, perhaps another similar club would be interested.
Then there’s the man who weaved himself into every promotion photo despite not playing a single minute. Our Danny Ward shaped problem. Earning decent wages while never, ever getting anywhere near the squad ever again. He’s straight on the sell list. We probably need a third choice back-up but there’s money to be saved in this department.
Manager Verdict
A - Looks good, would probably want some guarantees from the board that Hermansen is not for sale and a push on offloading the others.
Readiness Verdict
Hermansen: Premier League ready
Stolarczyk: Premier League ready (in a back-up role)
Iversen: Sorry sir, it’s time to move on
Ward: Sorry sir, it’s time to move on (for the third transfer window running)
Defenders
The misleading part of our squad? Before we picked up the nasty habit of conceding late goals in December onward, we had a decent clean sheet record and weren’t conceding bags of goals in the defeats we did suffer (we’ll ignore the Elland road game, hey).
The numbers game looks ok, until you consider that one of them was a loanee and another mainstay, Jannik Vestergaard, is on the list of those with an expired contract so can’t be part of the rankings.
We didn’t struggle with the defensive injuries that have plagued previous campaigns, but despite conceding the least goals across the league, we didn’t look consistently convincing at the back. How many of our back line would you be confident seeing line up in the Premier League and within what formation?
Wout Faes has been there before, with mixed results and after some of the kamikaze moments from this year, you’d be circling him with the red, correction pen. Even if we were to extend Vestergaard’s deal, he wouldn’t be able to get away with some of the moves he’s done this year and you’d worry in the games where fast men are charging him down. So centre backs is looking a little threadbare at best.
Taking contracts into account, if we don’t have much money, or end up with an unexpected embargo, the list of defenders is: Wout Faes, Ben Nelson, Harry Souttar (out in the cold for near on sixteen months), Conor Coady, Ricardo Pereira, James Justin, Luke Thomas (yes, we still own him), Victor Kristiansen and Hamza Choudhury if you’d like to consider him a right-back now.
Manager Verdict
C - Depending on your reliance on defenders, it’s either ‘could be better’ or ‘fairly concerning’. A lot of this will hinge on who we hire and their personal preferences for formation and defensive traits but you’d expect most to want at least one if not two good centre back and possibly a left back too.
Readiness Verdict
Wout Faes - Sorry sir, it’s time to move on
Ben Nelson - Could be PL quality (but starting him is a gamble)
Harry Souttar - Could be PL quality (but limited on formations he suits)
Conor Coady - Could be PL quality (but pace would be a concern)
Ricardo Pereira - Premier League ready
James Justin - Premier League ready
Luke Thomas - Sorry sir, it’s time to move on
Victor Kristiansen - Could be PL League ready (in a back-up role)
Midfielders
There’s some varying opinions where some of our midfielders are concerned at Fosse Way Towers. It’s certainly not the area of the pitch that needs the most attention for our new manager, but it’s not perfect either. There’s at least a good starting core of players who mostly seem Premier League reader (TFW management will agree to disagree on the specifics of who here).
There’s a few question marks that any prospective managers will likely need answers on to truly take stock. With Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall one of the assets we could sell for the most money, will the club look to sell him and try to make a dent in the PSR figures? Will Wilfred Ndidi be extended? Will a deal for Abdul Fatawu actually come to pass?
If the answers are no, yes and yes, then the list of requirements in midfield would diminish. If it’s yes to Dewsbury-Hall but a negative on Wilf and Abdul, then it’s more likely at least one attacking midfielder and a right-winger, plus a back-up on both sides. Boubakary Soumare is coming back if you’d forgotten he’s still around and who knows what a future manager may make of him.
Harry Winks was one of the players you could apply the Rolls Royce tag to this season and should be more than Premier League ready with past experience. There’s young and upcoming players who could fill gaps left in the wider squad by the likes of Marc Albrighton and Dennis Praet, but they’re all unproven at this level and likely not starters just yet.
Manager Verdict
B - For a starting eleven, it looks ok. We’ll need a replacement for Ndidi if he isn’t extended and Dewsbury-Hall if we sell him. We might need a true James Maddison, attacking midfield replacement this year. You’d want better back-up players to have on the bench or in the event of injuries too.
Readiness Verdict
Harry Winks - Premier League ready
Hamza Choudhury - Could be PL quality
Kasey McAteer - Could be PL quality (in a back-up role)
Will Alves - Likely to get a loan move
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - Premier League ready
Wanya Marcal - Likely to get a loan move
Stephy Mavididi - Could be PL quality
Boubakary Soumare - Sorry sir, it’s time to move on
Forwards
Given that we’re ranking this based on players that still have two contracts, we’re down to two forwards. Not ideal. Neither of them are proven at this level either. One is being linked with Championship teams and most fans would not be that bothered if the other left.
Daka had so little game time the last time around that it’s a bit of a lottery where he’s concerned and looking back on some of his missed chances in the Championship won’t soothe our next manager’s nerves.
We did well to spread our goals across the team, only Jamie Vardy hit double figures from the four strikers, but everybody else contributing papered over how concerning this would have been otherwise. Given this next season will be so drastically difficult, we need people to be able to finish the chances we do create as you’d expect us to be getting a lot less on average.
We enjoyed an average of 11.96 shots per game and if you think back to some games where we hit double figures on shots taken but scored either only one goal or zero, we’ll need to be a lot more clinical this time out.
Then there’s the Vardy of it all. More than proven in the Premier League and even if he won’t be a starter, a threat on the bench. Prospective managers will be asking for a resolution there and to know if there’s money in the kitty. Finding some players on a free is possible, but proven Premier League, or similar, strikers is tougher. If we are going to spend ‘big’ (in whatever context that means for us at the minute), it’s best spent here or on a centre back.
Manager Verdict
C- - Two strikers minimum required, right? Even if Jamie Vardy re-signs, he isn’t going to be playing every 90 minutes
Readiness Verdict
Patson Daka - Could be PL quality (but it feels like a big if based on this season)
Tom Cannon - Could be Pl quality (but we don’t really have any evidence either way)
Work to be done
Based on the above, assuming we don’t lose any of them, and ignoring the question marks (Ndidi, Vardy etc.) then we’re suggesting the core squad who look Premier League ready or proven are: Mads Hermansen, Ricardo Pereira, James Justin, Harry Winks and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
There’s a number in the possibly bracket given they’re not yet proven at this level, but that’s not a large group. Proven or not, the likes of Mavididi will play and we’ll find out soon enough. But for prospective managers, this is a squad that needs some attention or a manager who is really confident in getting young players up to speed and embedded into a team really quickly.
Transparency around the punishments we’re expecting, the contingency for how to combat them them in a way that means we can still do some transfer business and exactly what the transfer kitty looks are three big questions you’d be asking if you were interviewing for the Leicester City job. We ideally need somebody who is both a realist and pragmatist and who is up for a tough year ahead. No pressure then.
