Leicester City transfer state of play: Enzo Maresca’s wishlist, sales, and priority positions

An early look at how Leicester City’s summer transfer window could pan out with contracts and sales to sort before thoughts turn to bringing players through the door

The Premier League kicks off three months from now and so Leicester City have plenty of time to build a team capable of achieving Enzo Maresca’s stated aim of survival.

What they may not have are resources. With the club having already received one charge over an alleged breach of financial rules, and staring at another unless they sell players before the end of June, they don’t want to risk further trouble by spending heavily this summer.

But before they can decide what they want in the summer window and how best to spend their budget, City need to know what they’ve got. Sorting contracts for those whose deals are expiring this summer is the first task.

Who could stay and who could go

There should be official confirmation soon in the form of a retained list. Right now, it’s understood talks are being held with Jamie Vardy and Jannik Vestergaard at the very least, while Marc Albrighton, Dennis Praet, and Kelechi Iheanacho could be heading for free transfers. Wilfred Ndidi’s future is most up in the air, but Maresca has hinted he wants to keep him around.

From there, the focus turns to sales. City were placed under a transfer embargo by the EFL because they were deemed to be on course for a breach of Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) and perhaps the only option they have left to balance the books in time for the end of the accounting period on June 30 is to sell.

It’s not known how much profit City need to make to ensure they comply with the regulations, but that they need to offload players puts their best talents at risk. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is comfortably the most profitable player in the squad and Maresca expects Premier League interest in him come June, but Mads Hermansen and James Justin may also be targeted.

City do have players surplus to requirements that could help their cause, such as Daniel Iversen, Harry Souttar, Victor Kristiansen, and Boubakary Soumare, but selling them may be more difficult than finding interest in their top stars, especially at fees that can make a difference to their PSR compliance.

Where City will be looking to strengthen

When it comes to improving the squad, the midfield looks to be the area requiring the most attention. Maresca is likely to want a couple of new faces to play in the advanced roles behind the striker, and that’s even if Dewsbury-Hall does remain at the club.

The position occupied mostly by Ndidi this season seems ripe for a true attacking midfielder. Maresca has suggested that Ndidi, if he does stay, could fall back into a defensive role, meaning City will need at least one new starter for one of the number eight slots. Given the qualities needed to play in such a position, it could be an expensive deal.

But City are also need depth there. They were down one midfield in January when Cesare Casadei returned to Chelsea, and with Praet leaving and Yunus Akgun not likely to return, Maresca is very short on numbers there. It would help massively if Will Alves shows in pre-season that he’s capable of at least being a back-up for those positions.

One transfer City are expected to complete is for Abdul Fatawu. He is on course to make his move from Sporting Lisbon permanent for around £14.5m, but another new winger would come in handy, giving further competition to the Ghanaian, Stephy Mavididi, and Kasey McAteer.

A left-footed defender will also be high on Maresca’s wishlist with Callum Doyle going back to Manchester City. Given they would need to have plenty of quality in possession and have pace to make recovery runs, it could be another expensive deal to do.