Get your questions answered about Leicester City as they prepare for the summer transfer window and their return to the top division next season.
While four Championship teams compete in the play-offs for the final berth in the Premier League, Leicester City can already start planning their return to the top level.
But what do these preparations entail? The first goal was to ensure that the manager was satisfied and would not leave mid-summer. Despite interest from Sevilla, it appears that Enzo Maresca will remain in his current position.
The next step is to plan the squad. First and foremost, decisions must be made on six out-of-contract players. Jamie Vardy and Jannik Vestergaard are set to remain, but Marc Albrighton, Dennis Praet, and Kelechi Iheanacho are expected to depart. Wilfred Ndidi’s future is uncertain.
Then attention can shift to transfers. Abdul Fatawu, a loan winger from Sporting Lisbon, is expected to join the club permanently, although Maresca hopes to bolster his squad further. It remains to be seen if he will be able to do so given his financial situation.
Because City may have to consider selling before buying. They have until June 30 to balance their finances and conform with EFL financial guidelines.
Jordan Blackwell, City correspondent, will be taking your questions about these and other topics beginning at 1pm on Thursday. To participate, go to the comments section below, where there are prompts to log in or sign up, and then ask your question or join the discussion on those that have already been posted…
The truth about Leicester City’s greatest Premier League worry.
It’s excellent news for Enzo Maresca as City travel up to the Premier League, with Luton, Burnley, and Sheffield United’s troubles to survive likely being a one-off.
The Premier League’s three newly promoted teams have all returned to where they started, with their time in the spotlight lasting only one season.
In fact, they’ve come down with a whimper. Luton, the best of the bunch, finished in 18th position with just 26 points, the lowest total in Premier League history. Nottingham Forest survived with 32 points, the lowest of any remaining club.
It appears to be an unsettling sign for Leicester City as they prepare to return to the Premier League. There is a financial gap between the top flight and the Championship, and this season has shown that it is becoming increasingly difficult to bridge.
“The gap is getting bigger and bigger,” former Brighton striker Glenn Murray stated on BBC’s Final Score this weekend. “The Premier League is such a dominant league, and I think (all three promoted clubs teams being relegated) will happen more and more often.”
Murray did, however, add: “I believe Leicester can buck the trend next year. They clearly still have a very quality squad coming up from the Championship.”
But is there a pattern that the city should buck? Is the combined bad performance of Luton, Burnley, and Sheffield United a worrying warning for clubs emerging from the Championship, or were they an anomaly? We dug into the numbers from the last 20 years to answer some critical questions.
Are more promoted clubs dropping back down?
Yes, but only just. Over the last five seasons, more than half of the promoted clubs have been relegated, with eight of the fifteen failing to stay in the Premier League for more than a year.
The rolling five-year average is the highest it has been in 15 years. However, staying up currently is only as difficult as going to the Premier League in 2010. It’s too early to say that a promoted club has never faced greater challenges.
In reality, none of the promoted clubs have been demoted in the last two decades, with Fulham, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest remaining up last year. Another of those seasons occurred recently, in 2018.
Are promoted teams winning less points?
With 66 points between Luton, Burnley, and Sheffield United, the promoted clubs had their poorest season in over 20 years. In fact, two of the poorest three cumulative totals in the past two decades have occurred in the last three years, with Norwich, Watford, and Brentford scoring only 91 points in 2021.
As a rolling five-year average, the promoted teams’ cumulative points have now reached their lowest point in 20 years. However, there is insufficient information to establish a trend. The graphic shows that the points won by promoted clubs have remained fairly stable for quite some time.
