The latest Leicester City news as excitement is building ahead of the new season with City fans taking over three stands at Sixfields at the weekend in order to see the early sign of Enzo Maresca’s rebuild
Leicester City’s pre-season preparations are well underway as they enter a summer of big change at the club.
Following relegation from the Premier League on the final day of last season there has already been a number of changes at the club. Eight players have left at the end of their contracts, although the club remain in contact with captain Jonny Evans, despite him undergoing pre-season with former side Man United.
Enzo Maresca has come in as the new manager, the Italian tasked with overseeing the rebuild of the squad, while also implementing his own ideas as to the style of play for the new season. He has brought in his own backroom staff, including Willy Caballero as assistant manager.
James Maddison has been sold to Tottenham for an initial £40 million, while Harvey Barnes is expected to follow him. Newcastle are the most heavily linked.
City have also done some significant work in terms of incomings in the transfer window. Harry Winks and Conor Coady bring Premier League experience, while the signings of Callum Doyle and Mads Hermansen supplement that with exciting potential.
City are not done there in the transfer window either, with other arrivals expected between now and the end of August.
Following relegation, the changes bring an air of freshness to the club, with the new arrivals of Maresca, and the new signings prompting excitement among fans. That was shown with 3738 supporters making the trip to Northampton for the pre-season friendly on Saturday – City fans filled three of the four stands of Sixfields.
Maresca’s men came out as 1-0 winners on the day, thanks to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first half header. The game was the supporters’ chance to see the manager’s style of play for the first time, and there were signs that things are coming together after just two weeks of work.
Ricardo Pereira, and James Justin for the final 30 minutes, played the inverted full-back roles, where they join the midfield when in possession. City were also flooding the box with men when getting forward, something that has been a rarity in recent seasons.
Wilfred Ndidi came on in the final 30 minutes and was given the freedom, as the likes of Dewsbury-Hall, Winks and Dennis Praet were in the first half, to make those forward runs. While it’s not his natural style and he will come up against more difficult opponents, he showed that he could potentially cause problems for the opposition in that role should he stay with the club.
The three new signings in Coady, Winks and Doyle all impressed with their performances. Hermansen, who signed on Tuesday, could have the chance to play his first game in a behind closed-doors friendly against sister club OH Leuven on Wednesday.
After the game, both Coady and Maresca spoke about the first steps in adapting to a new way of playing.
“The lads have been outstanding with me, they’ve welcomed me, the manager as well and we’re listening to his ideas,” Coady said following the game vs Northampton.
“It’s new for everybody, it’s not just new for me in terms of what he’s bringing, the information he’s putting across every single day. I think you can see today, there’s a new way of doing things, there’s a possession based way of doing things and I’m trying to improve as the team are as well.
“I’ve loved every minute of it, I’ve loved listening to the manager and learning the ideas and listening to everything he’s trying to put across. Like I said the first two weeks have been great.”
While you can’t look too much into pre-season, the signs at Northampton show early promise over Maresca’s style of play. That and both the transfer activity happening off the field means that excitement is continuing to grow ahead of the season opener against Coventry on August 6.
