Four up for the Foxes: Get to know the Leicester City squad ahead of the big WSL kick-off
Leicester City Women are preparing for their fourth consecutive season in the Women’s Super League. It all starts this Sunday with a visit to face Liverpool before welcoming Arsenal to the King Power before the month is out.
Here’s an introduction to the new faces in the dugout, at the back and in attack - plus a welcome back to a familiar name.
Manager
We couldn’t start anywhere else. Amandine Miquel is the new face in the Foxes dugout after making the switch from Reims, a reminder that this is a club in need of a refresh after the scandal of last season. Miquel is saying all the right things so far, impressing fans at a Q&A in the summer with her commitment to attack. As we’ll cover later, Leicester have the players to go on the offensive - if what Miquel is promising turns out to be true, we’ll be seeing lots of goals.
Pre-season has been a mixed bag, with a victory over Sunderland to start but narrow defeats to Manchester United (away, lost 2-0) and Brighton (home, lost 2-1) after bright displays in the Perth International Cup against Manchester City (0-0, lost on penalties) and West Ham (won 5-2).
Of course, it was that West Ham game that showcased Leicester at their tantalising best. That’s the Leicester we will all hope to see in the WSL this season. But the resilience shown against Manchester City will be almost as important given the strength of the best sides in the division. In three seasons at the top level, the Foxes still only have one point from 24 games against the established top four.
Things aren’t getting any easier either, with the likes of Aston Villa (Gabi Nunes) and Brighton (Fran Kirby) making eye-catching signings. Will this finally be the year Leicester hit the top half?
Goalkeepers
Who is Leicester’s number one? The shirt would tell you Janina Leitzig, the brilliant German who came in on loan just over 18 months ago and signed permanently the following summer. It would have seemed impossible back then that anyone would challenge Leitzig for the starting role.
But Leicester, either keen to give Leitzig competition or in readiness for her departure to a bigger club, also signed the Dutch international Lize Kop that summer. Kop has been equally impressive when given a chance and Miquel has a choice to make now. Manchester United were keen to make Kop their replacement for Mary Earps but Leicester held firm, which says everything about how highly rated she is.
Defenders
The big unknown. Leicester have good depth at full-back but centre-back has been a different story since the departure of Ashleigh Plumptre to Saudi Arabia just over a year ago. Sophie Howard has been a mainstay for several seasons and Julie Thibaud was signed to replace Plumptre, while Josie Green dropped back from midfield to fill in there last season. It still looked like more was needed.
This summer, Leicester have signed the Jamaican international Chantelle Swaby from FC Fleury in France. Fleury have occupied a similar position to Reims in the French top flight for the past two seasons, so Miquel will know all about Swaby’s ability. Swaby was also picked out this week by the BBC as a summer signing to watch - and she’s not the only addition at centre-back.
Another arrival is Sari Kees, a Belgian international from Leicester’s sister club Leuven. Leicester also have England youngster Simone Sherwood to call upon.
The full-back positions are strong. The two Antipodeans, the energetic right-back CJ Bott from New Zealand and the set piece specialist left-back Courtney Nevin from Australia, are reliable performers, while Janice Cayman may pop up in more than one position during the season as well as pushing Nevin in particular.
Asmita Ale, another loan player who has made the switch permanent, will be challenging for a start too. Expect to see squad rotation here.
Midfielders
In January 2023, Leicester signed young Manchester City midfielder Ruby Mace on loan. Along with the arrival of Leitzig, it was the boost the team needed to ensure WSL safety. Mace looked like a future Lioness, controlling games from midfield and bringing both physicality and assuredness in possession.
The surprise was that she didn’t kick on after returning north. Instead, Mace was released this summer and Leicester fans were eager for the club to take advantage of the opportunity to bring her in permanently. So now she’s back and ready to boss the middle of the park again.
In the meantime, Leicester signed Japanese international Saori Takarada to try to do just that. Takarada is less physical but an accomplished technical player and the two should make for a good combination at the base of the midfield.
Sam Tierney is the other senior midfield option, a player who has seen and done it all with Leicester. The good news is that there is finally competition for places in central areas, including the young Swede Emilia Pelgander.
Takarada’s compatriot Yuka Momiki has impressed since her arrival and should take up more of an attacking midfield position, probing between the lines and feeding the front three.
Attackers
The centre-forward role is one Leicester have struggled with ever since promotion to the WSL. Nobody has ever really shone.
Natasha Flint, prolific for the Foxes in the Championship, found it difficult to adapt to top flight football and has recently joined Tampa Bay Sun in the US after failing to replicate her goalscoring form on loan at Celtic with her most recent club Liverpool.
Jess Sigsworth, signed from Manchester United for our first season at WSL level, suffered an ACL injury and, after a season at Sheffield United, retired at the age of 29 this summer.
Indeed, in each of our first two WSL seasons, no player scored more than two goals.
Last season, four players scored at least three - Jutta Rantala (6), Lena Petermann and Janice Cayman (4), and Sam Tierney (3).
Lena Petermann improved the side as a focal point in attack, but Leicester are hoping to go one better again this season with the addition of Noémie Mouchon from Reims. The hope is that a breakout star will be born, and Mouchon will finally add the goal threat Leicester have needed from their central striker.
England youth international Denny Draper, daughter of former Leicester midfielder Mark, is the one for the future who may explode onto the scene this season. Previous young attacking hope Ava Baker has moved on to Birmingham in the second tier.
In the absence of a big name centre-forward, in a 4-3-3 formation you probably want your best attacker on one side - someone with the quality to unlock a defence. On the other side, you want your most exciting attacker - someone with the sheer pace and skill to go past defenders and make the whole back line worry.
Leicester have the potential to offer that balance in wide areas, with Jutta Rantala cutting in from the right and Deanne Rose terrifying full-backs on the left. There are plenty of other good options too. Missy Goodwin shows flashes of brilliance and will want to prove she can do the job on a consistent basis.
Hannah Cain and Shannon O’Brien have suffered with injuries but will be hoping for better fortune this campaign. The French youngster Shana Chossenotte moved along with Miquel and Mouchon from Reims and will offer yet another option out wide.
