We simulated a stunning Gary Lineker takeover at his beloved Leicester City - this is how it played out

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How would Leicester City fare if a lifelong fan was to take a position of control at the King Power Stadium?

Former England striker and current Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has revealed he is unsure if he would ever want to get involved in running a football club.

When the question was posed over whether the success story at Wrexham had whet his appetite, the former Barcelona star dropped a major hint such a move was not on his agenda and would not be any time soon.

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Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, the lifelong Foxes supporter said: “We've got a question from Joe. Joe asks, with these celebrity owners in the Football League, Wrexham, Birmingham, etc., which club outside of the Premier League would you like to take over and why? Well, last season that would have been easy. That would have been Leicester, but we're back in the Prem. I don't think I'd ever want to take a football club on, would you?”

But that got us thinking here at 3 Added Minutes, how would the former Barcelona and England striker act if he was to invest in his beloved Leicester and take over as chairman at the King Power Stadium? We fire up Football Manager 2024, use the editor to update the Foxes squad to its current state, simulate the remainder of the 2024/25 season and allow Lineker to take charge ahead of the summer transfer window after the club parted company with Steve Cooper, despite remaining in the Premier League.

A new managerial appointment

The first priority for Lineker after he agreed to take a stake in Leicester and being appointed as chairman was to name a successor to Cooper following his departure from the King Power Stadium. The new man came from within the Premier League as Julen Lopetegui was appointed as Foxes boss after he parted ways with West Ham United at the end of the campaign. Coincidentally, that led to Cooper succeeding the former Sevilla and Wolves boss at the London Stadium.

Which players were sold under Lineker and his new manager?

Firstly, one of the big contract decisions facing the new manager and part-owner was immediately taken care of as club legend Jamie Vardy announced his retirement from the game. Danny Ward was allowed to depart on a free transfer and he was followed out of the door by loan signings Odsonne Eduoard and Facundo Buonanotte as they returned to Crystal Palace and Brighton respectively.

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Harry Soutter and Tom Cannon joined loan clubs Sheffield United and Stoke City on permanent deals that raked in £12m and Ben Nelson and Wanya Marcal returned from loan spells but were immediately transfer listed. There were just two further departures from Leicester during the summer transfer window as Jordan Ayew joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab and right-back Ricardo Pereira moved to Ligue 1 giants Marseille. The four permanent departures from the squad added a further £25m to the £50m budget handed to Lopetegui ahead of his first season in charge.

Which players were brought in under Lineker and his new manager?

The one player that was handed a new contract was goalkeeper Daniel Iversen as he put pen-to-paper on a new two-year deal. However, he and fellow stopper Mads Hermansen will face additional competition to become number one after former Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was snapped up on a free transfer after his contract with the Serie A club came to an end.

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A similar deal was agreed with Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin following his departure from the Toffees and a third free agent was secured when Harry Maguire was ‘brought home’ to the King Power Stadium as the England centre-back penned a three-year deal with the Foxes. Obviously, free transfers don’t really mean free transfers, so around £15m was taken from the Foxes budget - but that still left around £55m for Lopetegui to spend and he did that with two signings from Spain.

Firstly, £32m was handed over to his former club Sevilla as the Spaniard completed the signing of centre-back Loic Balde before £23m was enough to sign Valencia’s Portuguese attacking midfielder Andre Almeida.

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