Football writer Alex Keble assesses each Premier League club and their prospects for the 2024/25 season.
Leicester City
There is no worse preparation for a promoted club than losing the manager to a Premier League rival. It is a disastrous omen; a cruel blow to ruin what should be a joyous moment.
Not in this case. Enzo Maresca’s departure might leave Leicester supporters distraught, but his chess-inspired slow possession style is precisely the kind of football that leads Championship winners straight to relegation.
Steve Cooper, on the other hand, knows what’s needed to stay in the Premier League.
The brutal truth is that by losing the more progressive coach, Leicester are now better prepared for the step up.
Performance last season
Championship: First
FA Cup: Quarter-final
EFL Cup: Third round
Last five seasons
| Season | League position |
|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 5th |
| 2020/21 | 5th |
| 2021/22 | 8th |
| 2022/23 | 18th |
| 2023/24 | 1st (Championship) |
Best Premier League finish
Champions: 2015/16
See: More about Leicester's history
Season aims
Relegation in 2022/23 was a catastrophe that should not have been allowed to happen, as is evident from the amount of quality in a starting line-up that includes Harry Winks, Wout Faes, Wilfred Ndidi and Patson Daka.
The goal is not to scrape over the line but to reassert themselves as a mid-table side. They have the players – and the manager – to do it.
Key transfers
It’s been a slow summer so far defined chiefly by the loss of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, leaving a huge creative hole in the middle of the team.
Centre-back Caleb Okoli have been brought in to sure up the defence, while the experienced Bobby De Cordova-Reid has arrived on a free transfer, but Cooper could do with some more attacking signings.
Leicester's key transfers so far
| Player | Transfer Type | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall |  Transfer Out |
Chelsea |
| Bobby De Cordova-Reid |  Transfer In |
- |
| Caleb Okoli | Transfer In |
Atalanta |
| Abdul Fatawu | Transfer In |
Sporting Lisbon |
| Facundo Buonanotte | Loan In |
Brighton & Hove Albion |
See: Clubs' summer 2024 transfers
Tactics
Cooper’s Nottingham Forest were open and entertaining in the Championship, although after a poor start in the Premier League, he quickly shifted to a purely counter-attacking approach.
He will probably do similar at Leicester, meaning a low block that absorbs pressure before hitting teams on the break.
Injury report
| Player | Injury | Latest Update |
|---|---|---|
| Jamie Vardy | - | Details |
Pre-season results and fixtures
20 July Leicester 2-1 Villarreal Report
23 July Shrewsbury Town 1-2 Leicester Report
26 July Leicester 0-1 Palermo Report
3 Aug Augsburg 1-0 Leicester Report
10 Aug v Lens (A) Details
What the manager says
Steve Cooper: “It [Leicester] lost its status for one season, managed to get back straight away, which is a really impressive achievement, but now it’s about re-establishing ourselves back to the level. And what’s good is that there are so many people here who have seen both levels and there is a big difference.”
Best XI (4-3-3)
Mads Hermansen; Ricardo Pereira, Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, James Justin; Harry Winks, Wilfred Ndidi, Hamza Choudhury; Abdul Fatawu, Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi.
Opening PL fixtures
Kits
See: More details at Leicester's online store