From A Leicester City Perspective, June Sure Was Weird

What the #$%#^^$##!@# is even going on?

Steve Cooper’s Blue And White Army

Former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper is the new boss at the King Power. He’s signed a three-year contract that will (theoretically-you know how these things go) see him in charge through the 2026/27 season. Cooper has made a point of saying a lot of very right things and seems excited to have the job.

Let’s get real here: We’re terrible at knowing who will or will not be a great manager for the Foxes.

New Era at the King Power

By “we,” I mean “me.” I also mean “everyone here at Fosse Posse.” And, I also mean “you.” Unless you’re just exceptionally prescient, I doubt you saw Claudio Ranieri working out quite as well as he did. Maybe, like me, you were excited by the appointment of Paulo Sousa.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall Follows Enzo Maresca (and N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater and Wesley Fofana) to Stamford Bridge

KDH was the consensus player of the year last year and for good reason. His 26 goal involvements in the league led the club by some margin (“some” = six in this case). His departure didn’t fill any of us with joy, but it felt inevitable as soon as the season ended.

 A Big Loss for the Foxes

He was a favourite of Maresca’s and he obviously did well in his system. You combine that with Leicester’s need to raise a lot of cash to balance the books before the close of the fiscal year (30 June) leaving City with few options. Could we sell five lesser players to raise the same funds? Maybe, but there was no way we would get five deals done in a month, especially since there weren’t obvious suitors.

It sucks. I’m not going to relitigate all of the decisions and events that put the club in the financial situation they’re in. The fact is that the situation is grim and the Premier League is highly motivated to make an example of Leicester. Job #1 for the Foxes is “Premier League survival” and anything that reduces potential penalties would be a huge step in that direction.

The silver lining, such as it is, is that £30 million is a pretty good sum for a 25-year-old who has no history of success in the top flight. Dewsbury-Hall was great last year, but it’s reasonable to ask how much of it was his personal improvement, how much of it was Maresca’s system, and how much was the level of competition.

Michael Golding Follows Frank Sinclair (and, um…Dennis Wise) To The East Midlands

In a completely separate but c’mon, who do they think they’re kidding deal, Chelsea youth player Michael Golding is set to move to Leicester City. The 18-year-old Kingston-born midfielder played for Chelsea’s U21s in the PL2 last season, making 11 appearances and tallying 3 assists.

 A New Face at the King Power

Based on what little video is available, he looks very clever on the ball. It’s hard to get a sense of his pace or his defensive abilities, and the competition isn’t exactly top-notch, but he looks like he’s worth watching. He has featured for England’s U16, U17, and U18 teams, so I’m not alone in this assessment.

Lewis Brunt Is Going To Be Famous, Just Not For Us

Lewis Brunt has signed for the meme-team, joining Wrexham for their League One campaign. The centre-back/left-back/right-back/defensive midfielder made his Premier League debut for the Foxes in 2022 and was our Development Squad Player of the Year.

 A Familiar Face in New Surroundings

He had a successful loan spell with Mansfield in League Two last season, but the Stags’ bid to make the move permanent was rejected. He’ll now join Deadpool’s and Ronald MacDonald’s squad and presumably be on television an awful lot for a League One player.

Wilfred Ndidi - Schrödinger’s Midfielder

It seems like just a week or so ago it was reported that Wilfred Ndidi had rejected a contract extension and would be seeking employment elsewhere. That’s because it was. And, just a few days later, we saw reports that he had changed his mind and would be extending his stay at the King Power.

What is the truth of the matter? Who knows? However, I would like to point out that our central midfield currently consists of Harry Winks and Hamza Choudhury. The return of Ndidi would give us…pulls out calculator…50% more manpower in central midfield.

 A Familiar Face in the Middle

I’m hardly a biased observer. I love Wilf, so I would love to see him stay with us. Last season, he showed some new skills (same caveats listed under KDH apply), suggesting he still has some growth potential. I love his energy, I love his leadership, and, with Maddison gone, he’s the undisputed drip king of the East Midlands.

Everyone’s Favourite New Player (Finally) Makes It Permanent

Abdul Fatawu is a Leicester City player. You can all exhale.

 A New Era at the King Power

What’s Next?

There are scads of rumours out there. Most of them involve central midfielders like Benfica’s Florentino Luis or defenders like Spurs’ Joe Rodon. These are almost certainly false. We’ve also been linked with breaking the bank for…Tammy Abraham? This ain’t gonna happen either.

With the financial situation only being stabilised a couple of days ago and with the Euros in the knockout stages, don’t expect any immediate signings. Cooper will be eager to get his squad settled ASAP. But, these things take time. We’ll flood your feed with all manner of unsubstantiated rumours, speculation, and just outright flights of fancy soon enough.