Leicester City’s relegation is a blessing in disguise the club truly needs

Leicester City shook the world back in 2016 when they won the Premier League title against the odds. The Foxes were nearly relegated the season before under Nigel Pearson but became champions 12 month later with stars like N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy thriving under Claudio Ranieri’s guidance.

The following years have been pretty eventful too with ventures into European football and an FA Cup win back in 2021 after they beat Chelsea at Wembley in the final courtesy of Youri Tieleman’s second-half winner. However, this past term has been a disaster for the club and they have now slipped back into the second tier. Many felt that it was coming for a while and they were finally put out of their misery on 28th May following Everton’s win at home to AFC Bournemouth.

A significant summer awaits for Leicester now with both comings and goings expected as they look to bounce back at the first time of asking. Tielemens has already left with Aston Villa throwing him a top flight lifeline, along with Çağlar Söyüncü to Atlético Madrid. Key first-team players such as Harvey Barnes, Timothy Castagne and James Maddison are set to follow them out the exit door at the King Power Stadium too.

Dropping back into the Football League isn’t all doom and gloom though and could actually be a blessing in disguise for the Foxes. Look at Burnley for example, they dropped into the Championship last year but absolutely loved their push for promotion in the last campaign under Vincent Kompany. They played attractive football and were able to recreate a new identity which stands them in good stead heading into the next few years.

Fulham are another team that dropped down and came back with a second tier title win in 2021. Marco Silva’s side then finished 10th last term and now play with their own distinct style with all their players knowing their exact jobs.

Leicester fans will be able to fall back in love with their team again, even if it doesn’t feel that way at the moment with their relegation still leaving a sour taste right now. They need to see it as a clean slate and a chance to start again with a new direction.

The second tier isn’t an easy league by any stretch, but you can’t deny the fact that there is now a huge gap between that division and the Premier League still. Recent history tells us that demoted clubs usually do quite well and parachute payments certainly help with their bumper budgets for three years. QPR manager Gareth Ainsworth is worried, especially with Southampton and Leeds United falling down too, and said on talkSPORT: “It’s going to be a tough, have you seen that Championship? Where’s the small teams now?

“Where have they gone? No disrespect, Rotherham are still in there, I think that could be a smaller team than everyone else. Where’s your Wigans, where’s your Blackpools, where’s your Wycombes? There are none anymore.”

There are far more winnable matches, as opposed to going away to places like the Etihad Stadium, the Emirates or Anfield and hoping more than expecting to get a result. Travelling supporters will be visiting grounds that they haven’t been to for a while or at all which adds to the excitement.

Cutting down the squad size and stripping down their ranks will be next on the agenda for the Foxes. They have too many players and should operate with a more streamlined approach next season which involves getting rid of some of their dead wood.

Leicester have the core of a very solid outfit with players such as Harry Souttar, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, Jonny Evans, Luke Thomas and of course Vardy, all of who will feel they owe it to the supporters to get an immediate promotion. It remains to be seen whether Dean Smith will be sticking around and the club have been linked with a few new potential managers, with Scott Parker and Carl Hoefkens the favourites, as per talkSPORT.

Parker has been there and done it before with both Fulham and Bournemouth which makes him a sensible option. Hoefkens, on the other hand, hasn’t got much managerial experience having only managed Belgian giants Club Brugge in the past, but did play in England with Stoke City and West Brom during his playing days.

Recruitment is massive for the Foxes in the upcoming transfer window and although their signings will depend on who leaves first and foremost, they need to bolster and bring in some fresh blood.

Football Insider claim Leicester are ‘plotting’ a move for Blackpool striker Jerry Yates and bringing in a proven goal scorer like the former Rotherham United and Swindon Town man would be a statement of intent. He has scored 46 goals in 139 games and fits the bill of the calibre of target that they need to be looking at over the next couple of months as they aim to send a statement out to the rest of the division.

Others who would be useful additions are left-back Ryan Manning, who is available on a free transfer following his departure from Swansea City, young Hull City defender Jacob Greaves, QPR attacking midfielder Ilias Chair and Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney. Rumours are likely to intensify once it is established who will be leading the team.

Manning and Cairney would inject more quality into the side, whilst Greaves and Chair are both 22 and 25 so has the potential to grow and develop in the future. The latter is facing an uncertain future at his current club after firing in 28 goals in 201 outings in all competition to date.

Fixtures are released later this month and once the dust has finally settled on their disappointing relegation, Leicester will return for pre-season. Maddison and Barnes probably won’t with big moves expected on the horizon for the England international pair, but big money will be bagged for their inevitable departures which a portion will be put into the transfer kitty to bring in reinforcements. The Foxes shouldn’t still be licking their wounds anymore once they return from their summer holidays, they should be excited and see the Championship as an opportunity to reset and return stronger.