After the fairytale success of winning the Premier League last season, Leicester fans were drawing up their own shopping lists in the summer. The Foxes were linked with a whole host of names as they prepared for not only a defence of their title but also a first ever tilt in the Champions League.
Unfortunately, though, their dealings were not quite up to the level needed and their domestic form is nowhere near the heady heights of last season. With Leicester reportedly having £30m to spend this month before their £15m deal for Wilfred Ndidi, Claudio Ranieri is limited in who can bring into a squad that is arguably focusing more on matters in Europe than at home.
But £15m can still you get some quality if you shop around. Firstly, though, Ranieri will have to ship some faces out if he is to rejig this under-performing squad. We’ve already seen Jeffrey Schlupp leave the club, but let’s now look at THREE more players who could leave The King Power this month.
Leonardo Ulloa
He may have played in Leicester’s league survival back in 2014/15 as well as last season’s title success, but this season Leonardo Ulloa has found chances at the club a lot harder to come by, and it’s for that reason that he now could be set to move from the King Power Stadium.
With the arrival of Islam Slimani from Sporting Lisbon last August, Ulloa has moved down the pecking order and has been limited to just four Premier League appearances, in which he has failed to add to his 17 league goals for the club.
The former Brighton forward, who joined the Foxes back in 2014, is now reportedly being tracked by West Brom as they look for some additional firepower in a bid to keep themselves in the top half of the table. Ulloa’s contribution to the club will certainly not be forgotten by Leicester fans, but it seems as he is now the odd man out as this squad continues to evolve.
The 30-year-old is a proven scorer at this level and with so many clubs in this division looking for a forward to get them all important goals, Ulloa will certainly find himself in high demand before the transfer window comes to a close at the end of the month.
Luis Hernandez
Brought to the club last summer from Sporting Gijon on a four-year deal, life in Leicester for Luis Hernandez has, perhaps, not gone to plan as he has struggled to break into the first-team with just three Premier League appearances to his name.
And just six months into that deal it seems as if Hernandez’s desire for first-team football will see him move away from the champions – albeit that move will more than likely be on a short-term basis for now as Malaga look to secure his services on loan (an initial offer has been rejected, though)
Hernandez epitomises what was wrong with Leicester’s transfer dealings over the course of last summer. Ranieri wanted to add squad players to a title winning team, but the fringe players have had very little impact as the manager stays loyal to his title winning stars.
That means that for a player like Hernandez his route to the XI has all but been blocked and he has to make do with being an unnamed substitute in matchday squads. It’s perhaps too early to call his signing a flop but you do have to wonder how long the Spaniard’s Leicester career will end up being.
Matty James
After a knee injury in May 2015, Matty James has unfortunately become the forgotten man at Leicester. As his team-mates were going on to make history he had to sit on the sidelines through 2015/16.
He would have no doubt been delighted with events at the club but it would have been tinged with some sadness, as he did not get to play a part in their success. But with that serious injury now behind him, he is still only on the fringes of the Leicester squad.
With the 25-year-old finding first-team football being hard to come by with just a single league appearance to his name in this campaign, James could be afforded the chance to go out on loan this month to get some much-needed minutes under his belt.