The Local Lowdown: Leicester City

Leicester’s relegation from the Premier League came as a shock to the football world. How was it viewed in the city?

Just as much of a shock, even more so. I think there was the feeling that after the title win, consecutive European campaigns and the FA Cup win that Leicester were established in the Premier League.

The club stated in its annual accounts that their main objective was to disrupt the Big Six, close that huge gap and qualify for Europe on a consistent basis. That is why the wage bill rose to the seventh highest in the division and why they subsequently had top pump the brakes because they were concerned about UEFA’s new FFP regulations, rather than the Premier League’s.

The Pandemic had a huge impact on the club as it stifled their revenue growth just at a time when they were showing great ambition. Usually when a club is relegated the fans can point at a lack of ambition from club owners, but in Leicester’s case the opposite was true. They were chasing the Big Six, but the problem is they are a moving target, with their huge revenue streams and global branding.

Even so, with the quality Leicester had at their disposal they should never have been in genuinely relegation strife, but the Premier League can be an unforgiving competition if you lose focus.

How has the club navigated the intervening period and how much has the team changed from last season?

They decided to have a completely fresh start. Former manager Brendan Rodgers had called for a squad refresh, but with 15 players departing and nine coming in, it is a total rebuild in many ways, and with the appointment of Enzo Maresca, they have gone in a completely new direction.

They have shown commitment to Maresca’s approach and vision to the extent that two players they recruited in January now don’t fit into the plan. Victor Kristiansen is out on loan at Bologna and Harry Souttar hasn’t been included in a squad yet.

Enzo Maresca is the new man in charge at Leicester. (Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

How have the performances looked in the early weeks of the new campaign?

Despite the defeat to Hull City just before the international break, it has still been the best ever start to a season in Leicester’s history with six straight wins in all competitions (four in the Championship and two in the Carabao Cup).

But I think most fans will appreciate that this is still a work in progress under Maresca and there are areas of their play that need refining.

They like to dominate possession and push high up the pitch, which can leave them vulnerable to the counter-attack if they get caught building from the back, but it is a risk Maresca doesn’t seem too concerned about as he is totally committed to his philosophy.

Now they have the players in he wanted to play the way he wants, we should start to see the development in the coming weeks.

Now that the transfer window has closed, how well equipped is the squad to mount a promotion push?

I think they have done some good business, but only time will tell how good the recruitment has truly been. Bringing in Conor Coady and Harry Winks, two England internationals, straight away was a coup. Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen takes the sweeper-keeper role to another level and he was Maresca’s number one target.

Casera Casadei looks a real talent in midfield as well but keeping Kelechi Iheaancho, who has become the main No 9 in Maresca’s system, could be the best piece of business yet as he plays the way Maresca wants his main striker to, dropping deep to allow space for midfield runners to exploit.

Having lost James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, the question is do they now possess enough creativity in the final third, but they have recruited three wingers in Stephy Mavididi, Yunus Akgun and Abdul Fatawu.

Harry Winks arrived from Tottenham in the summer. (Photo: Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

Who do you see as the key men?

Winks is a key figure, sitting in front of the back four, which becomes a back three when Leicester are in possession. He has more touches than every other player in most games and is the man that builds the attacks.

Ricardo Pereira is captain at the moment and he steps into midfield from right-back to join Winks in possession.

But there will be an emphasis on goals from midfield this season so Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Casadei and Wilfred Ndidi, who has been converted from a defensive midfielder into a No 8, will have important roles to play too.

What do you expect from Friday’s game?

A good test of Leicester’s development under Maresca. So far they have worn teams down and scored late winners in most games because they dominate possession for long spells.

But so do Southampton. I looked at the stats from the first five games to assess Leicester’s progress and noticed that the only team to have more passing sequences was Southampton, so it will be two teams who want to dominate the ball.

No side has done that to Leicester yet so I am intrigued to see how they will deal with that.

Main image: Tony Marshall/Getty Images