Leicester City have had quite a quiet summer thus far. In fact, the Foxes are the only Premier League club that has yet to bring in a single new player during this transfer window.
So unless they go on a big spending spree in the next few weeks, it’s looking like Leicester’s starting lineup at the start of the 2022-23 season will be quite similar to the one they had at the end of last season.
Read on below as SBOTOP predicts how Brendan Rodgers will field his Foxes during this upcoming Premier League season.
Goalkeeper – Kasper Schmeichel
No surprises here as Kasper Schmeichel is still undoubtedly Leicester’s first-choice goalie. The great Dane is now getting on in age – he is set to turn 36 in November – but he is still among the top tier of Premier League goalkeepers. Although, his defence will need to make some significant improvements, particularly amid their massive struggles defending set pieces last season.
Right-back – James Justin
Leicester have a number of different options at right-back, with Ricardo Pereira, James Justin, and Timothy Castagne all capable of manning that position.
Ricardo’s rash of injury problems over the last two seasons has perhaps knocked him out as the first-choice full-back, though, while Justin could be used on the opposite flank.
That leaves Castagne, who spent the latter part of last season as the regular right-back, as the likely candidate to keep his spot.
Centre-back – Wesley Fofana
The Foxes sorely missed Fofana, who was unavailable for a good portion of the season as he recovered from a serious knee injury. But the young Frenchman returned to play seven games, with Leicester losing just once.
The 21-year-old is by far Leicester’s best centre-back, and having him back for a full season should help improve the Foxes’ defence, which looked quite flimsy without him.
Centre-back – Jonny Evans
Evans had an injury-plagued season last year as he only made 18 appearances for Leicester. And at 34, it might be a struggle for the Northern Irishman to stay on the pitch consistently from here on out.
But with Caglar Soyuncu struggling so mightily last season and possibly on his way out of the King Power, Brendan Rodgers may have no choice but to stick with Evans as one of his two starting centre-backs.
Left-back – James Justin
The versatile Justin can play in several different positions, including either full-back spot. Rodgers opted to start Justin on the left during the tail-end of last season and it worked quite well, so that might be the formation he turns to at the start of the season.
The 21-year-old Luke Thomas made a compelling case to make the left-back spot his own as he made 21 starts in Justin’s absence last season. But unless a couple of Leicester’s more experienced full-backs goes down with an injury, the youngster will have to bide his time on the Foxes’ bench.
Central midfielder – Wilfred Ndidi
Wilfred Ndidi is without question one of Leicester’s important players as he fills the crucial role of shielding the defence. However, the Nigerian’s ability to stay on the pitch is trending in the wrong direction as he appeared in just half of Leicester’s Premier League games last season due to persistent injuries.
Ndidi is almost an automatic starter if he’s fit, but it remains to be seen for how many games that will be the case.
Central midfielder – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Youri Tielemans’ desire to leave Leicester puts the Foxes in a tough spot. The Belgian – who famously scored the winning goal in Leicester’s FA Cup triumph in 2021 – has been a crucial player in the team for the last few seasons with his passing and creativity in midfield, and his departure would be a huge blow to the Foxes’ Premier League 2022 odds of pushing for a European spot.
Leicester will likely go shopping for a replacement should Tielemans leave, but among their current in-house options to replace Tielemans in the starting lineup, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall appears to be the best choice. The 23-year-old belatedly broke onto the scene as he made 28 Premier League appearances and a whopping 44 appearances overall.
While he has nowhere near the talent and quality of Tielemans, KDH is a hard-working player who will not be afraid to battle in the middle of the park.
Central midfielder – Boubakary Soumare
Soumare did not have the best debut season with Leicester as he made just 19 appearances, with only 12 starts. And there have been rumblings that the 23-year-old Senegalese could be on his way out of Leicester after just one year.
But with Tielemans looking to leave, there figures to be a lot of playing time up for grabs. With Leicester still taking some time to sort out their transfer business, Soumare could be given another shot to show his quality with the Foxes.
Right winger – James Maddison
After seemingly plateauing for the last couple of seasons, James Maddison had by far his most productive Premier League campaign as he finished with 12 goals and 8 assists. He had a particularly strong end to the year with four goals and three assists in the last four games.
If Tielemans does leave, Maddison will have an even bigger burden within the Leicester attack. But if his end-of-season form is anything to go by, it appears the 25-year-old is capable of raising his game to higher level.
Left winger – Harvey Barnes
Speaking of higher levels, Harvey Barnes levelled up his game as he scored six goals and provided a team-leading 10 assists last season. The 24-year-old has been among the most underrated attackers in the Premier League for the last few years, but it might be time to start treating him as the star that he is.
Centre-forward – Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy just keeps scoring goals. Despite his trademark pace steadily on the decline, the 35-year-old still managed to score 15 goals – tied for sixth in the Premier League – in just 25 appearances, and all of which were from open play.
Even as he reaches his mid-30s, don’t count out Vardy’s ability to provide more Premier League 2022 highlights for the Foxes this upcoming season.
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