The discussions are many when you see the result of this summer’s transfer activity and what is the final verdict of the moves done
Ahmed Musa and Riyad Mahrez are two major moves out, so are the loan moves of Harvey Barnes and Islam Slimani. Leo Ulloa, Ben Hamer and Robert Huth are other players who have left and in the past been part of the first team set up.
Often when talking of a team, you try to talk about the best eleven, and of course the depth of the squad and the quality in it. We don’t have a fasit and we really don’t know if the league positions in the last two seasons is an answer, of right or wrong, we honestly don’t know.
The fact that you have a big squad can be an advantage if you are clever to use it in the right way and rotate in a way that makes all players better and get them in the best shape possible, playing in Europe, FA Cup and League Cup games alongside the Premier League.
You can see the best teams, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the top clubs more or less play with their best team all the time. Pep Guardiola even played games both at Man City and Bayern Munich without naming a full bench.
When Leicester City managed to win the Premier League, they found a team that worked well together and Claudio Ranieri kept that strategy and why he decided to leave that idea when he started a new season, few or no one can understand and he instead flirted with relegetion and lost his job.
If you look at that team, when it was just put back in action by Craig Shakespeare and also giving Yohan Benalouane a role to cover for Huth and Morgan in their absence, then you start to wonder why you would not stay with that formula.
When AC Milan was a top team in Europe and Italy, players such as Maldini and Costacurta both played in the Champions League final at the age of 40+. Huth and Morgan are far from that age, and Benalouane has just turned 31. Fuchs and Simpson are “not old”, King neither. They are pro’s in their best age.
The problem is when you start to change and you suddenly finds out that the players coming in are not better than the once you have or have shipped out, then you are in trouble and too many changes will in the end upset everything.
The signing of Harry Maguire is a clever one, and that is a move that has worked extremely well, but far from bringing Leicester City back in as a PL winning challenger.
Most Leicester City fans says that the reason the club won the Premier League was alone N’Golo Kantè, of course he was important, so to see fans happy with a 10th position, shows the lack of ambitions Leicester City fans have, due to historical reasons. Surely when you win a league title with 10 points, you should dream about that as a possible target, but of course getting back into the top four should certainly be something to aim for.
Riyad Mahrez has left, a player Leicester City owners tried to keep, as they were probably afraid to be relegated without him. He is gone, and so far it looks as if Leicester City will do ok without Mahrez.
Will Soyuncu and Benkovic together with Evans be better alternatives than Morgan, and will this stop the progress of young talents Josh Knight and Seth Johnson. Leuven loanee Elliott Moore is one good prospect as well, why was he again shipped out.
To hit “the bulls eye” in transfers is a difficult task, and to make so many “desperate” moves makes you wonder why and how you gonna find your way with them all, and as we have seen, Slimani and Musa are gone, so are Barnes and Kapustka.
Musa appeared with great confidence in the World Cup for Nigeria and made a number of stunning performances, Slimani scored goals like a machine in Portugal, but did the duo get a chance, really. Musa scored two goals against Everton in the FA Cup and two against Barcelona in a friendly, why was it not possible to build on that.
Easy to answer that question, Slimani and Musa never got enough chances to play and there were no rotation plan what so ever, the Sir Alex way. Players should act professionally but how foolish can a manager be, everyone knows that to play football games is always important in getting in form and perform to your best level.
James Maddison looks good, so did “new born” Papy Mendy, and so far it’s not any real loss in selling Riyad Mahrez, haven’t missed him much in the two first games.
Pereira is a good addition and if he is given a run of games on right back now, then hopefully he will settle into that position.
The squad looks stronger, and if the team is gelling well over the next two or three games and points are picked up, we will hopefully be ok, but have loved to see Leicester City again challenging for the title.
Musa might have been an alternative, since he could have played out wide or up front in an emergancy. Tcf kind of likes Slimani, but playing only one man up front, you have to be patient, and of course understand his loan move to Fenerbahce.
Diabate and Ghezzal are alternatives, but hardly players at the level of Musa, so the need to progress from their current level to be able to be counted in the Premier League.
Manchester City. Liverpool and Chelsea are flying, Tottenham looks well in place, despite making no new signings over the summer, very interesting. Arsenal and Manchester United are behind Leicester City in the table, and are they really so fantastic.
