Leicester should sell, loan, or release these players for free in summer | OneFootball

In recent memory, Leicester City have been European challengers with many of the players in this very squad. They have won the Championship, been relegated from the Premier League, won the FA Cup for the first time in their history, and had established themselves as ‘best of the rest’. Now, the Foxes sit in the relegation zone with little hope coming their way.

A total refresh is required in the summer, regardless of whether Nistelrooy manages to keep the King Power club in the Premier League or not. This requires a mass exodus from the squad, promotions from the youth set up, and exciting attack-minded additions to the team. Oh, and a totally new defensive lineup.

Players Leicester City must offload

At the core of all of football are the defenders. With strong defenders, teams can stop attacks, gain possession, progress the ball swiftly on the break, and score opportunities from set pieces. That is not what the Foxes have at this time.

James Justin has been unreliable, Wout Faes inconsistent, Conor Coady simply not good enough, and two of our goalkeepers have been liabilities (I do not expect I need to name the pair). All five have got to go, while Jannik Vestergaard should be moved on if the Dutchman can find another player to fill the gap.

We can imagine players such as Ben Nelson being promoted to play alongside Caleb Okoli, as well as a couple of signings to fill the gaps while the high-potential youngsters like Tom Wilson-Brown and Brandon Cover or Joe Wormleighton are sent out on loan.

In midfield, it would be difficult to suggest any to get rid of. For me, Leicester City’s midfield is balanced and filled with quality. It could actually do with a couple additions from the youth squad over the next few years. For the next campaign though, players such as Henry Cartwright, Will Alves, and Sammy Braybrooke should head out on loan while we could do with an attacking midfielder on loan or a short term basis until the trio are judged ready by Nistelrooy.

Michael Golding should also be sent out on loan. The former Chelsea midfielder has been banished to the reserves it seems, so should not be subjected to that for another season. Unless Nistelrooy has a plan to develop the player and utilise them, then they should be moved on loan to give them some game time.

Up front, I think our on loan Odsonne Eduoard, Bobby De-Cordova Reid, and Patson Daka should be moved on. Meanwhile, any incomings dependent, Kasey McAteer should be loaned out to ensure he is getting sufficient game time to develop into the player we have seen him as under Enzo Maresca’s Championship Foxes.

There are some tough debates to be had over a few players. Jamie Vardy is a legend. Ricardo Pereira is a loyal stalwart I think all of us love. Mads Hermansen is one of the best goalkeepers I have seen at Leicester. Arguably, the expense of Vardy may not be justifiable if the King Power side sign a long-term replacement; Pereira’s tragic incessant injuries mean we get to see that raw quality and passion he has seldom; and, Hermansen is perhaps a great route to make some money.

I do not want to see any of those three leave in the summer, but there has to be a conversation of whether freeing up the wage bill from two legends and paying for transfers from the Dane’s transfer fee could be beneficial to the refresh.

There are also players I suspect many would like to offload to free up spaces. I however want to see them remain at Leicester to get a chance they never really had: Luke Thomas and Harry Souttar. The English left-back is a Leicester lad so I feel the benefits of retaining a home-grown defender outweigh any transfer fee we could get, and the Australian centre-back in my opinion is pretty good and certainly more reliable than the Belgian and scores more goals than the Danish centre-back.