Leicester won’t just win promotion this season. They’ll have the most comfortable season in their history.
I watch them and I see a team that’s absolutely cruising. They’ve won ten out of 11 games in the Championship and they’re not even into second gear yet.
They’re playing lads in different positions. They’re blooding up-and-coming kids. They’re constantly switching the squad and the team around.
Come November, when everything settles down and they are up to peak fitness, you will see that team streak into the distance. Nobody will catch them.
What you’re seeing at Leicester is what happens when a well-run club gets relegated from the Premier League and doesn’t press the panic button.
Smart
Lots of things went wrong last season, for a lot of different reasons. But, fundamentally, the Foxes are run by smart people who recruit the right people at the right time.
The sporting director John Rudkin is top drawer. So is Susan Whelan, the chief exec. They’ve identified an unbelievable coach in Enzo Maresca, who fits the idea of what Leicester are all about – producing players, improving players, and giving lads a chance in the first-team.
Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harvey Barnes are all recent examples of that. Now you’ve got Kasey McAteer and Hamza Choudhury coming through.
On top of that you’ve got quality outsiders identified by the recruitment department which is brilliantly run by Martin Glover.
Harry Winks is an incredible deal. A 27-year-old with ten England caps for £10m? What a signing that is. He’s a class above the Championship and you can see it in the way he’s dictating games.
Did they expect to keep the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka? Probably not. When any player gets relegated, their agent will try to get them out and keep them at the highest level possible. That’s their job.
But the brutal reality for most of these lads is that they never get as many offers as they think they will.
Prestige
Some will get the opportunity to move abroad, but most won’t fancy it. England is the place to be, for money and prestige.
And if you listen to the player himself, they’ll often want to stay. It might be that they have passionate feelings for the club. It might be that their family is settled and their kids are happy in school.
They might also feel that they owe the club a little bit after being relegated and want to put things right. Why move for the sake of it?
At the end of the day, Leicester have come into the Championship with a world-class coach, quality all over the pitch and depth in every position. Meanwhile, they’ve got young lads in abundance who the fans will love.
They are one of the strongest sides I’ve ever seen at this level and it is a matter of time until they win the title.
