FLW has identified two Leicester City players who must improve their fortunes before the January transfer deadline.
Leicester City will continue their Championship campaign in the hope of returning to the Premier League at the first attempt.
The Foxes were relegated from the Premier League last season under Brendan Rodgers and Dean Smith, and Enzo Maresca is now tasked with bringing the club back up to speed.
Despite having a strong second-tier squad, Leicester saw 15 players leave the King Power Stadium this summer, with big money coming in for players like James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, and Timothy Castagne.
As the January transfer window approaches, more Foxes players will be linked with moves away from Maresca’s club, as the Italian determines which players will contribute to a promotion push this season.
Football League World has compiled a list of the two Leicester City players who have a limited amount of time to resurrect their careers in a blue and white shirt.
1 Patson Daka
The first is forward Patson Daka, who joined the Foxes from Red Bull Salzburg in 2021.
The Zambian international was a promising prospect after scoring 68 goals in 125 appearances in Austria, but he only managed five goals and three assists in 23 Premier League games in his debut season.
The 25-year-old would go on to score just four goals in 30 Premier League appearances last season as Leicester were relegated to the Championship, with the forward line playing a key role in their demise.
While there was a chance for Daka to resurrect his Leicester career after dropping down a division, he now finds himself competing for a starting spot with Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho, and summer signing Tom Cannon – making it difficult for him to secure regular first-team minutes with such stiff competition up front.
Daka may be able to get some game time during the hectic winter period as Maresca looks to use the entire squad, but he will need to significantly improve his performances if he is to move up from third-choice striker.
If this does not happen, Daka will most likely leave at the start of the new year to make a fresh start away from the King Power Stadium in order to get his career back on track.
2 Marc Albrighton
Marc Albrighton is up next, who has been a loyal servant for Leicester over the years.
The 34-year-old is in his ninth season with the club and has played over 300 times for them in his career.
The winger spent last season in the Championship with West Bromwich Albion but failed to score a single goal in 17 games, leaving him with a point to prove as he returns to the King Power Stadium.
Albrighton has made just 25 league appearances in a blue and white shirt in the previous two seasons, with his playing time dwindling as he nears the end of his career.
The emergence of talented young forwards such as Kasey McAteer and Abdul Fatawu has pushed Albrighton further down the pecking order, and he will only have the rest of the winter season to prove he is a valuable member of the team.
With Leicester’s squad depth in this area, it would not be surprising to see Albrighton leave the club in January, but he will need to do everything he can to change Maresca’s mind about his future.
