Can Leicester City Avoid Relegation Straight Back To The Championship?
When Leicester City suffered a surprise relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2022-23 season, their goal would have been to return to the top flight at the first time of asking.
They achieved that target under Enzo Maresca, beating plucky underdogs Ipswich Town to the Championship title by a mere point in a thrilling end to the second tier.
Now that they are back in the promised land of English football, the Foxes will be hoping to retain their status as a Premier League club for as long as possible.
That is, perhaps, easier said than done, though. Due to several factors, including an impending points deduction and the loss of Maresca and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, Leicester are the heavy favourites in the relegation odds.
However, the beauty of the Premier League is nothing is ever predictable, and Leicester are the epitome of the unexpected — winning the coveted title under Claudio Ranieri from 5000/1 in 2015-16 while also shocking the nation when defeating Chelsea to win the FA Cup in 2021.
That said, here are some of the reasons why we think it might still be too early to rule Leicester out of the running entirely.
Ability to overcome the points deduction
While making up lost ground is never going to be easy, if Leicester can pick up crucial points in the early stages of the Premier League, they could already find themselves back on the tails of the bottom-ranked sides.
Everton are the perfect example, as Sean Dyche’s men successively navigated their way to safety despite being slapped with points deductions last season — still managing to finish 14 points clear of the relegation zone.
Leicester should take a leaf out of the Toffees’ book, while also using the belief that spurred them on to Premier League glory eight years ago.
Steve Cooper’s experience
Losing an exciting manager like Maresca after just one season, especially when the stakes are raised from the Championship to the Premier League, is far from ideal.
But Steve Cooper brings top-flight experience, which could be incredibly valuable in the Foxes avoiding relegation.
The 44-year-old saved Nottingham Forest from the drop in their first season back in the Premier League when they were promoted under Cooper after a 23-year absence, finishing five points clear of Leicester despite being one of the favourite for relegation in the Premier League outright odds.
If Cooper can muster up a similar plan this season and get this Leicester side to be as dogged and tricky as his Forest outfit, then he could steer them clear of the drop.
New additions to the squad
The departure of Dewsbury-Hall is going to be felt this season, as the 25-year-old will be hard to replace after scoring 12 times and registering 14 assists in the Championship — which resulted in him being named in the Team of the Season.
However, the Leicester hierarchy has been using the £30 million they received for the midfielder well, bringing in fresh faces to bolster their squad.
Abdul Fatawu has signed permanently from Sporting Lisbon for £17m having scored six goals and set up a further 13 while on loan at the King Power Stadium last term.
Leicester have also signed the highly-rated centre-back, Caleb Okoli, who represented Italy at Euro 21 last year, from Atlanta, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid arrives for free from Fulham to add more attacking threat.
If these players, and the other new players that could arrive this summer, settle quickly and adapt to their new surroundings in the Midlands, then Leicester could be in a good place.
