The Week in Leicester: The return of the rumour mill and the great groundsman betrayal
Our final round-up before the big kick-off includes some much-needed new signings, an exodus of people you’ve never heard of, and an intriguing alternative way for fans to get their message across.
The good
Facing the prospect of starting the season with Timothy Castagne and Kasey McAteer as first choice wingers, Leicester finally acted to get the deal to sign Stephy Mavididi over the line. The timing of this transfer, immediately after the club returned from Singapore, didn’t do much to dismiss the notion that the trip effectively put business on hold for a fortnight. But Mavididi has signed in time to start on Sunday.
The club also made a start on repairing the PR damage of the summer by organising an open training session at the King Power for fans to come and see both the men and women - including new signing Aimee Palmer, who joined from Bristol City this week - in action. Wednesday’s event seems to have been an unironic success, allowing families to meet some of the players and generally have a good time.
Given the lack of a showpiece home friendly - or indeed any home friendly at all - and the cost of attending games at the moment, this was badly needed. Many of the club’s decisions over the past year have been laced with a total lack of regard for anyone who actually wants to pay to support the team, culminating in the Asian tour this summer. Hopefully this event is a sign that some lessons have started to hit home.
The bad
Not content with devouring everyone else’s players, their coaching staff, their data analysts, cup competitions they don’t like, and ultimately the soul of the sport, the Big Six still haven’t finished yet. I’m sorry to have to report that they’ve focused their latest evil designs on the gardener.
Leicester City’s head groundsman, John Ledwidge, has upped sticks and bolted to Manchester City. In what is surely a first, he was then forced to issue a statement on social media to clarify that he wasn’t scarpering at the first sign of trouble, he’d actually planned to ditch us for ages.
Another name on the outs is Trey Nyoni. He, apparently, is an extremely promising youngster in the academy. So promising that he’s being nicked by Liverpool before he’s even turned 17. Thanks for the memories, Trey.
The daft
After another summer defined by an inability to sell anyone we don’t want, Leicester finally got rid of a player this week! It was a goalkeeper, in fact. No, not that one. Or that one. Or that one. Or that one. Development squad ‘keeper Chituru Odunze is the man to depart after four memorable years with Leicester. We wish him well as he heads to the implausibly-named Crown Legacy FC.
Another former development squad icon on the move this week is our old friend Sidnei Tavares. Famous for being Nani’s cousin and almost scoring a volley against Brighton, Tavares was once the most-hyped name in the youth setup, linked with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Celtic, and Juventus before he joined Porto after refusing to sign a new contract. ‘If you do this, then one day you’ll be able to pull on the famous Colorado Rapids shirt’, his agent may have said.
And of course this happens…
Hot goss
The club’s return from Asia has coincided with a sudden burst of activity. Mavididi has joined, and the floodgates have opened on the rumours front as well. Or, at least, we’re now seeing a steady trickle of rumours in place of the desolate, barren and waterless wasteland that existed while everyone was on holiday.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi of Crystal Palace is the most exciting name to be linked. Once you can get over the icy realisation that we’re now a proving ground for Crystal Palace youngsters, Rak-Sakyi absolutely fits the bill in terms of the profile of player Enzo Maresca is likely to want. A goal threat from out wide, he dominated League 1 with Charlton last year, and returned 15 goals and 8 assists.
Grady Diangana of West Brom, and Ao Tanaka of was-it-over-the-line winner against Spain in the World Cup fame are two other names in the mix. The links to Cesare Casadei have perked back up again, though it may rely on Leicester pretending we didn’t get relegated to get it over the line.
Meanwhile the battle between Leicester City Football Club and Selling A Player We Don’t Want For Money is heating up. The Daily Mail are reporting that we’ve set a £5m asking price for Daniel Iversen, an amount which seems entirely reasonable but will presumably price him out of a move. While other teams sell their third choice ‘keepers for £25 million.
Thing we learned
The final week before the big kick off is peak predictions szn, and this year is no different. The supercomputers have been hard at work, with Opta picking Leicester to finish second behind Middlesbrough, and the shady knock-off version in the Mirror backing the Foxes to win the league.
The folks at the Not The Top 20 pod, meanwhile, have disgraced themselves by a) partnering with a betting company and b) having Leicester finish fourth, a full three positions behind where we will actually finish. Stick it on the bulletin board Enzo, old chap!
Anything else?
Has a shirt number announcement post ever triggered anyone as quickly as one which has Danny Ward as the lead-off hitter? The big news, such as it is, is that Mavididi inherits #10, while #6 and #7 remain unclaimed. Bouba Soumare has, appropriately, claimed the vacant #24 shirt, previously held by Nampalys ‘my God, are you still here?’ Mendy.
One last thing
Velez Sarsfield finished fourth from bottom when the Argentinian league campaign finished last week. Their fans responded by attacking the players and threatening them at gunpoint. Which rather puts some used bedsheets into perspective.
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