Steve Cooper makes Leicester City transfer request as missing star suggests exit on cards

The Leicester City manager has plenty of centre-backs to choose from as he thinks about his starting line-up for the opening game, and it could lead to departures

Steve Cooper does not want any “nailed-on” starters in his Leicester City squad and has called for the club to replicate the competitive centre-back battle in every position.

Manager Cooper is hoping for a number of new recruits before the Premier League season begins in under two-and-a-half weeks’ time, with fresh attacking options the priority. One area where he does not need signings is at the heart of the defence.

City currently have six senior players vying for two spots in Cooper’s starting line-up, and the battle is a close one. Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard were City’s regulars last season, but the club have since welcomed in £15m summer signing Caleb Okoli, while Conor Coady started as captain against Shrewsbury and Palermo, suggesting he could be a key player under the new boss.

There is also academy graduate Ben Nelson and Australia international Harry Souttar, with the latter left out of the squad for the defeat to Palermo last Friday because of the depth at centre-back. It’s a lot of players to keep happy but that doesn’t bother Cooper.

“That’s what I want in every position,” he said. “I don’t want any player thinking their place is absolutely nailed on.

“That’s what we’re aiming to do, that in whatever position a player plays, they get on with their team-mates and have a great spirit, but they have to play well and train well because there’s somebody ready to play. We’re not in that position at the moment. But I hope we can be.”

However, the competition at centre-back is likely to see players move on. Souttar, who does not appear to have travelled to the club’s training camp in Germany, could move on loan to either Sheffield United or Rangers, while Nelson is a loan target for Championship clubs too.

Their exits could speed up now Vestergaard and Faes have returned. Both were afforded an extended holiday after their participation at Euro 2024, but Vestergaard was back in the team for the loss to Palermo last Friday, a game Faes missed with a toe injury.

The Belgian is now fit again and travelled with the squad to their training camp in Weiler-Simmerberg, a town on the Germany-Austria border where Hungary stationed themselves for Euro 2024. The abandonment of Wednesday evening’s meeting with local side Rot-Weiss Weiler means Faes still does not have any minutes under his belt this pre-season, and he’ll hope that changes against Bundesliga outfit Augsburg on Saturday.