The start of July was a busy time for Leicester City, as they unveiled the signings of Conor Coady and Harry Winks, both on 1 July. Just under 2 weeks later, Callum Doyle was also announced, followed by the signing of goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen earlier this week. In an exciting new era for the blues, Enzo Maresca will be hoping he can take the club back to the big-time.
There’s a new spark of life in the club, following what was one of Leicester’s worst years of football in recent times. Ahead of the Championship season, Coady, Winks, Doyle and Hermansen will be looking to make an impact in what was a low-confidence side, and looking to give us Foxes fans something to get excited about.
What can Harry Winks add to the midfield?
After a few days of rumours circling, the news that most Foxes fans were pretty happy with, Harry Winks penned a 3-year deal. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and England International reportedly signed for a fee of around £10 million.
Winks came up through the Spurs academy, before making 203 appearances for his boyhood club. The Champions League finalist spent last season on loan in Italy, playing 20 times for Sampdoria, and is now looking to revive his career back in England at the age of 27. With things not quite clicking with Spurs or in Italy, he has a lot to prove with this Championship move.
We can expect Winks to come in to replace Youri Tielemans, playing in the number 8 role in what could be a midfield 3, playing alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the middle of the park. KDH acting as the legs of the midfield, whilst Winks will be hoping to find the cutting edge pass with his creativity.
The ambition shown by Winks will be music to the ears of City fans, something we didn’t see a lot of from the squad last year. In an interview, he said, “I’m looking forward to getting started, to have a full pre-season with the team and come here early to get ready for the games coming up. It’s going to be an important few weeks to get everyone ready and to push myself to get fit”.
He further went on to talk about Leicester as a club and the challenge ahead, “I’m also looking forward to a new challenge and to challenge myself. Coming to a club like Leicester is the perfect chance to do that. Hopefully we can get back to the Premier League. I’m sure most of the players in the team are feeling the same way”.
Hearing this from a new signing is a refreshing feeling for the Foxes fans, with the lack of drive and fight that we saw last year when we needed it most. Harry Winks is a signing for the Blues to be excited about, with a wealth of experience, it’s just what is needed for a long-winded Championship season.
What can we expect to see from Conor Coady?
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton man is an exciting addition for the Foxes, with his vast Premier League and Championship experience. The 30 year-old has made 176 appearances in the top division, as well as another 167 outings in England’s second tier.
The England international is well-known for being a leader on the pitch, which is something the Foxes have been in need of in recent times, and amid interest from Premier League clubs it’s a brilliant signing for the club to have pulled off.
Coady will have a good reading and understanding of the game, something that will hopefully come in handy for the season ahead. We can expect to see someone who isn’t afraid of backing out of a challenge, and will push the team on for the full 90 minutes. A question that’s been on the minds of fans is whether he’ll start the season as captain of the club, given his clear leadership qualities? With Jonny Evans now confirmed to have left the club, Coady could potentially come in as the first team captain.
Something that would have stood out to Foxes fans from the Northampton game is how vocal he was, with his piercing voice able to be heard from the stands. Coady also looked to be composed on the ball, looking like someone who knew how to control a game as well as his players.
Speaking to LCFC TV, he said: “I’m absolutely over the moon. I couldn’t wait to get down here, to obviously see everyone and get everything signed and boxed off. Now I’m here, I’m massively excited. I’ve been massively excited all summer to be fair and it’s something I was desperate to get done.”
Following the Northampton game fans will have been disappointed to see Coady limp off during the behind closed doors friendly versus Leuven, but with a couple of weeks to go before the start of the season let’s hope that’s just a minor injury.
Maresca reunited with Callum Doyle
The Manchester City academy graduate has joined Maresca’s Foxes on a one-year loan deal. Leicester were looking to sign the Englishman on a permanent transfer, but concerns over FFP apparently denied us from being able to do so.
The 19-year-old has made the move to the East Midlands, following a season long loan at Coventry in the 22/23 season. The highly-rated defender impressed playing in sky blue, helping the team to the Play-Off final, which they lost (I know, what a shame!)
Doyle was a crucial part of the side which won the U23’s Premier League under Maresca. When speaking about working with the Italian again, he said, “It’s great to come to work in a place like this. I’ve worked with Enzo before and won the Under-23s Premier League title with him. He improved me a lot so it’s good to work with him again. What’s on everyone’s mind right now is obviously to get the club back where it belongs. This season, with the squad that we have, I think we’ll do really well.”
Doyle also enjoyed a loan spell up north, having a successful period for Sunderland. Doyle made 36 appearances for the Black Cats, finally helping them get back into the Championship from League One. A deserved opportunity opened up for him at Coventry, where he came a fan favourite and showed his qualities.
It looks to be a potential back three next season for Maresca’s side, with two centre backs incoming, who both of which have experience and play better in a three.
Safe hands with Mads Hermansen
The goalkeeper question has been one that kept coming up for Foxes fans. Danny Ward struggled in the Premier League, but is he a decent Championship keeper? Will Iversen step up and be the number 1? The truth is that it’s likely that either of them would be the first choice for the team that Enzo’s building. So in comes Mads Hermansen from Brondby. Another Danish goalkeeper and we all know how much we like them. At only 23 this is an excellent chance for him to make his name in English football, and he seems excited to be at the club, stating, “I’m very, very proud to be here. It’s a big moment for me and my family and I’m very happy. I’m really looking forward to getting started. Leicester is a very big club. It has so much potential. I’ve played two full seasons for Brøndby. I think I developed in a very good way and I’m looking forward to taking the next steps with Leicester. I really like to be on the ball. I like to play and be, as much as I can, in the game.”
At just £5 million, the bargain price tag could be a steal this summer if his shot stopping and distribution lives up to what we’ve been told to expect.
With the team now out in Thailand for a pre-season tournament facing Liverpool and Tottenham, the season opener is coming up quickly – now just a couple of weeks away. With all of the new signings having qualities to excite the fans we can now look forward to seeing them in action, hopefully along with a few more still to come in before our Championship opener versus Coventry.
Words by Tom @talkingfoxes.
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