Leicester City latest: Foxes want Birmingham City ace, Chelsea loss reaction, Danny Ward | OneFootball

Despite not featuring in the Championship this weekend, Leicester City will return as the 'chasers' in the second tier title race after the international break.

As a result of Leeds United's 2-0 victory over Millwall just two hours after the Foxes' dramatic 4-2 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final, Daniel Farke's side have become the latest side to lead the way in the division, ahead of a crucial final month of the season.

Regardless, Enzo Maresca's side gave a good account of themselves against Mauricio Pochettino's men, and will return to action against Bristol City on Good Friday after the final international break of the season.

With that being said, FLW rounds up all the latest developments at the King Power Stadium.

In what was one of four enthralling FA Cup ties across the weekend, Leicester were ultimately undone in added time through Carney Chukmueweka and Noni Madueke's strikes after an extraordinary Axel Disasi own goal and sublime Stephy Mavididi curler brought Maresca's side back to level terms after the interval.

However, whilst the Italian's side couldn't join M69 rivals Coventry City in the semi-finals, the head coach believes that not having a gruelling period of extra-time could prove beneficial to his squad's fortunes in their upcoming nine fixtures.

"We don't like to lose games, but the effort and performance was very good. We scored twice but then the red card completely changed the dynamic," Maresca told the BBC post-match.

"But then it is probably best to not have extra-time and injuries, because for us the main target is (promotion from) the Championship.

"Unfortunately, we have many players who will leave for the international break but we are going to use that [time] to recharge, because in the Championship there are too many games," he added.

"In this season, you probably need 100 points to get promoted. There is no league in the world where you need around 100 points to get promoted. It is what it is and we need to adapt," Maresca concluded.

Wales boss issues "sympathetic" stance on Danny Ward situation

One man who didn't feature for Leicester once again this weekend is Wales' first-choice goalkeeper Danny Ward, who deputised for fellow backup, Jakub Stolarczyk at Stamford Bridge.

The former Liverpool man was linked with a move to Sheffield United in January, which failed to materialise, and is still yet to play a competitive game since Maresca took the reins in the East Midlands.

This has left the Dragons' boss Rob Page in a tough predicament as a number of his goalkeeping options such as Ward, Wayne Hennessey and Adam Davies have rarely featured. Regardless, he has spoken about his sympathy towards the 30-year-old in what has been a frustrating campaign from his point of view.

"When I put my player head on, I have sympathy for Danny, when I put my manager head on, no, but with my player head on, of course I understand," Page said via BBC Sport.

"It's hard sometimes and not easy to just get out when there are wages, fees and all-sorts involved, it is out of your control."

Although Ward has failed to edge past Mads Hermansen in the pecking order, his national team boss has commended his attitude to feature in recent Under-21 fixtures.

"He has played in a couple of under-23 games, he said he was going to do that and he has done," the 49-year-old continued.

Wales take on Finland in a Euro 2024 play-off semi-final on Thursday night, with the winners taking on Poland or Estonia in May for a place at the major tournament in Germany.

Leicester join race for sought after Birmingham City midfielder

News also broke on Sunday which claimed that Leicester have joined the race for the highly-rated Birmingham City midfielder, Jordan James.

That's according to Alan Nixon via his Patreon account, who reveals that the club are targeting a move from the West to the East Midlands in the summer, regardless of whether they find themselves as a top flight club or not.

However, Nixon reveals that their best chance of pursuing the 19-year-old Wales international is if promotion is secured, after Birmingham previously knocked back offers from Crystal Palace and Atalanta in the January window.

Although Leicester's financial situation remains far from clear, the addition of the box-to-box midfielder who has eight goal contributions from 36 games would be particularly shrewd, given the fact that the experienced duo of Wilfried Ndidi and Dennis Praet are entering the final months of their respective deals.