It's costing Leicester City about £7.1m per win they get in Championship | OneFootball

Leicester City are four fixtures away from an immediate return to the Premier League, but know any kind of slip up could prove costly to their automatic promotion hopes.

The Foxes kicked off last weekend's Championship action away at struggling Plymouth Argyle, with many predicting a comfortable win for Enzo Maresca's side, but it proved anything but. The conclusion of the second tier took yet another dramatic twist as Mustapha Bundu's only goal of the game secured the Pilgrims a much-needed victory.

That being said, both Leeds United and Ipswich failed to capitalise, with Daniel Farke's side losing for the first time at home this season against Blackburn Rovers, while Ipswich Town could only draw with Middlesbrough at Portman Road.

And while Leicester's promotion back to the top flight is all but confirmed, statistics of their spending show that their return to the Premier League should already be confirmed as they had threatened to do so earlier in the campaign.

Leicester City have spent the most of any team per game this season

Upon their return to the Championship after nine seasons in the Premier League, changes needed to be made with a number of players leaving the King Power Stadium.

The likes of James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Timothy Castagne were just a few players who left the club during the summer, with all three bringing sufficient funds into the club to go about recruiting for a season in the second division.

While those aforementioned players left LE2 for a transfer fee, the Foxes lost several influential players on a free, including Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey.

Maresca was able to strengthen ahead of his maiden season in England, welcoming Harry Winks, Tom Cannon, Conor Coady and Stephy Mavididi through the door, with a mix of experience and youth making the upcoming season an exciting prospect.

Their dominant start to the campaign saw no further incomings during the January window, with only Luke Thomas returning from his loan at Sheffield United before completing a move to Middlesbrough until the end of the campaign.

But subsequently, it has come at a cost. According to Transfermarkt's estimates, Leicester's 88 points and 28 wins in the league place them bottom of the standings when looking at the cost per win compared with the purchase value of their squad.

It is no surprise that the three relegated Premier League clubs closely follow the Foxes in the rankings, Southampton have spent an average of £5.9 million for their 23 triumphs this term, while Leeds' total is £4.6 million.

The likes of Norwich City, Watford, Middlesbrough and Birmingham City all rank highly on the list, with their squad values far exceeding the majority of teams in the division.

Leicester City statistics reveal huge advantage they hold on promotion rivals

With the season coming to a close, Leicester have shown that, despite the quality within their squad, they are still capable of coming unstuck against the lower sides in the division.

Taking into consideration their defeat to Plymouth on Friday evening, Neil Dewsnip's purchase value of his squad is around £2.1 million, almost ten times less than what the Foxes have within their ranks.

When looking at the opposite end of the table, Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers top the rankings with an average of £156,000 spent on players within their squads that have resulted in victories, closely followed by Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle, with promotion rivals Ipswich ranking among the top five in the division.

And while the East Midlands club face charges of breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules from their time in the top flight, the abundance of quality within their squad will surely give them a huge advantage heading into the final games of the season.

The plethora of talent at the club has underperformed in recent weeks, with there being no better time than now to show the supporters why the club paid the transfer fee for their services.

While those statistics underline that money can help buy success, this season has proved that there is no guarantee, with the Championship campaign looking set to be decided on the final day of this term, with three sides vying for a place back in the top flight.