Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now? | OneFootball

Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now? | OneFootball

Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·16 March 2024

Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?
  1. Leicester City's six most expensive signings in history, including Kelechi Iheanacho, have had varying levels of success and impact at the club.
  2. Players like Patson Daka and Wesley Fofana have shown great potential but have also faced challenges like injuries affecting their playing time.
  3. Youri Tielemans, the most expensive signing, left for Aston Villa, while older signings like Islam Slimani have been on a series of clubs since leaving Leicester.

Leicester City might be in the Championship currently, but prior to their relegation last season, the Foxes had a hugely successful spell in the Premier League.

Between 2014/15 and 2022/23, the Foxes managed nine consecutive seasons in England's top flight, which included lifting the Premier League title in 2015/16.


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An FA Cup was also bagged in 2021, and the club have had numerous European campaigns in recent seasons, including in the UEFA Champions League.

Of course, to compete at such a level meant that investment was required, and the club, on occasion, were not afraid to spend their cash to bring in quality players.

But, where are those players now? Well, below, we've taken a look.

FootballTransfers, and what they are currently up to.

6 Kelechi Iheanacho - Leicester City

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

Starting the list off with a player that Leicester fans should be very familiar with at present, we have Kelechi Iheanacho.

According to reports, the Foxes forked out a sum of £25 million to bring the Nigerian striker to the King Power Stadium from Manchester City in 2017.

Despite that now being almost seven years ago, Iheanacho actually remains at the club to this day, even despite their drop to the Championship.

To date, the 27-year-old has made 229 appearances for Leicester City, 23 of which have come this season.

Iheanacho has just five goals to his name in the Championship, a tally he will no doubt look to add to as Leicester chase promotion in the final weeks of the season.

5 Patson Daka - Leicester City

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

Patson Daka is yet another current Leicester City player to be in the club's six most expensive signings ever rankings.

That is because reports suggest that Leicester paid RB Salzburg £23 million to secure his signature in the summer of 2021.

With seven goals and four assists in the Championship this season, in just 14 appearances, Daka has had a big impact in limited matches so far.

In the second half of the season, he has predominantly featured under Maresca, though, and he could play an important role in the run in for the Foxes.

4 Islam Slimani - KV Mechelen

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

The fourth most expensive signing in Leicester City history, or joint-third as you will see further below, is forward Islam Slimani.

Signed in 2016 following their Premier League title win, Slimani cost the Foxes a reported £30 million.

After making the move from Sporting Lisbon, Slimani made less than 50 appearances for the club, scoring just 13 times in 47 games.

These days, now 35-years-old, Slimani is well travelled, and currently finds himself playing in Belgium for KV Mechelen.

He only signed for the Belgian club last summer, and has so far made five league appearances.

Since leaving Leicester permanently in 2021 after a string of loan spells elsewhere, Slimani has had spells, either permanent or temporary, with Lyon, Sporting, Stade Brestois, Anderlecht, Coritiba and his current side KV Mechelen.

3 Ayoze Perez - Real Betis

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

Nearing the sharp end of these rankings now, Ayoze Perez is the third most expensive transfer in Leicester City history.

Reports suggest that, like Slimani, Perez cost the Foxes £30 million when he joined from Newcastle United in 2019.

The Spaniard went on to make 114 appearances for the club, but departed the King Power Stadium this summer following the club's relegation from the top-flight after featuring just eight times in the Premier League last season.

Perez elected to join Spanish side Real Betis last summer on a free transfer, where he had been on loan for the second half of 2022/23, and is seemingly doing well since his permanent return.

In 2023/24, Perez has appeared 28 times in all competitons for the club, scoring six goals and registering two assists, some of which have been in the UEFA Europa League.

2 Wesley Fofana - Chelsea

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

Although this list has been dominated by attacking players so far, defender Wesley Fofana comes in as the second most expensive Leicester City transfer in history.

The Foxes forked out a big sum to land the Frenchman from St Etienne in 2020, paying a reported £36.5 million to do so.

Fofana, after appearing 52 times for the club, would go on to net Leicester a big profit in 2022, however, when Chelsea paid an eye-watering £70 million plus add-ons for his signature.

Unfortunately for Fofana, he has made just 15 Premier League appearances for Chelsea so far, with injury hitting him badly, so much so that he has not featured at all in 2023/24.

That is down to an ACL injury sustained last summer in pre-season.

The 23-year-old is a big talent, but it remains to be seen how he comes back from such a big injury, and indeed how his Chelsea career pans out.

1 Youri Tielemans - Aston Villa

Article image:Leicester City's top 6 record signings: What is each player up to now?

Last but by no means least, we have finally reached Leicester City's most expensive signing in history - Youri Tielemans.

The talented Belgian midfielder cost the Foxes £40 million when they snapped him up from Monaco in 2019, and Tielemans went on to show his worth.

Having been on loan at the club initially in the second half of 2018/19, Tielemans clocked up an impressive 195 appearances for Leicester.

His name is cemented into the club's history, too, having scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final in 2021 to defeat Chelsea 1-0.

Unfortunately for Leicester, Tielemans left on a free transfer last summer, joining current Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa.

With 35 appearances already under his belt for the Villains, Tielemans continues to show what a talent he is, even if it has taken him until the second half of the season to break into the side as a regular starter.

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