One simulation has forecast Leicester City for an exceptional 2024 summer transfer window.
Leicester City is facing unusual circumstances as they prepare to return to the Premier League without a manager. Just weeks after leading the Foxes to the Championship triumph, Enzo Maresca was lured away from the King Power Stadium by a tempting offer from Chelsea. What lies ahead for Leicester remains to be seen, but some big decisions must be made in the coming weeks as a number of key players near the conclusion of their current contracts.
Who will make such decisions is unknown, as is how the Foxes will approach the transfer market in their quest to re-establish themselves among English football’s elite. So, we at 3AddedMinutes thought we’d try to get a sense of how the future months would play out. We fired up Football Manager 2024 to see how the world’s most popular management simulation projected the Foxes’ hierarchy would react, and it began with the surprise appointment of former Chelsea and Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino quickly added his own touch to the Foxes’ goalkeeping lineup, while keeping faith in Daniel Iversen and Mads Hermansen. However, the present Foxes combination face a fresh danger after their new manager paid Monaco £5 million to hire Swiss goalkeeper Phillipp Kohn.
Defenders The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager would rebuild his defensive ranks and spend approximately £77 million. Full-backs James Justin and Ricardo Pereira joined West Ham United and Bournemouth for a combined fee of roughly £52 million. Wout Faes (£17 million to Southampton), Harry Souttar (£5.5 million to Brentford), and Jannik Vestergaard (£3 million to Norwich City) all left.
Pochettino moved quickly to replace them, paying £17 million for Almeria’s Cesar Montes and £7.5 million for Monaco’s El Chadaille Bitshiabu. The new Foxes manager proceeded to strengthen his team, spending a combined £16 million for Gent’s Jordan Torunarigha, Sturm Graz’s Max Johnston, and Fulham full-back Kevin Mbabu.
Pochettino’s defensive options include Conor Coady, Cesar Montes, Ben Nelson, Luke Thomas, Kevin Mbabu, Max Johnston, Victor Kristensen, El Chadaille Bitshiabu, and Jordan Tornarigha.
Midfielders Pochettino made two new additions to his squad, one of which will have caused quite a stir after the Foxes signed Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White for £32 million. Genoa’s Morten Frondrup was also signed for a lower fee of £6 million. There were midfield exits, with Hamza Choudhury joining Wolves for £13.5 million and Wilfried Ndidi and Dennis Pratt joining Roma and Lille on free transfers after their contracts at the King Power Stadium ended.
Pochettino’s midfield options include Morgan Gibbs-White, Morten Frendrup, Harry Winks, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Boubakary Soumare. Forwards There were two exits from Pochettino’s forward ranks, with Kelechi Iheanacho joining Burnley for £8 million after being chosen to spearhead the Clarets’ push to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Unfortunately, Jamie Vardy’s time as a Fox came to an end, as the former Premier League and FA Cup winner joined MLS club LAFC on a free transfer.
In terms of incomings, there were plenty, with Brazilian striker Willian Jose joining from Real Betis for £2.5 million and Lokomotiv Moscow winger Sergey Pinyaev moving to Leicester for £10.5 million. Rodrigo Riquelme, the son of Argentina legend Juan Roman, arrived from Atletico Madrid for £7.5 million, while Swedish winger Pontus Almqvist joined on a free transfer after leaving Rostov.
Pochettino’s forward possibilities include Kasey McAteer, Stephy Mavididi, Sergey Pinyaev, Patson Daka, Tom Cannon, Rodrigo Riquelme, Pontus Almqvist, and Willian Jose.
