Leicester Premier League Odds: Cooper faces tough task to keep Foxes up

Leicester City are back in the Premier League having won the Championship title last term at the first time of asking following relegation, and now they will bid to survive in the top flight. It’s been a turbulent summer for the Foxes, and the dreamy days of 2016 feel like a long way away right now. 

Still, some things never change. Jamie Vardy remains at the club at the age of 37 and you best believe he is on his way to wind-up Premier League fans. Below I’ve previewed their season, and taken a look at the Leicester Premier League odds. 

Last Season: 1st (Championship)

Top Scorer: Jamie Vardy (20)

Transfers In: Issahaku Fatawu – Sporting CP (£15m), Caleb Okoli – Atalanta (£12m), Michael Golding – Chelsea U21 (£4m), Bobby Decordova-Reid – Fulham (free), Facundo Buonanotte – Brighton (loan). 

Transfers Out: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – Chelsea (£32m), Kelechi Iheanacho – Sevilla (free), Harry Souttar – Sheff Utd (loan).

First Game: Tottenham (H)

Prediction: 20th

Premier League Odds

Leicester did well with a strong squad in the Championship last term. They picked up 97 points, as Enzo Maresca steered his side to the second tier title. But now the Italian has departed for Chelsea, which is a remarkable move given he wasn’t all that popular at the King Power stadium last term. 

That feels like a strange comment to make given his side won the league, but his football did draw criticism for being boring from some quarters. His departure has paved the way for Steve Cooper to take charge, and the former Nottingham Forest manager is ready to have another crack at the Premier League. 

He took Leicester’s East Midlands rivals from the Championship relegation zone to the Premier League, and kept them there. It was a remarkable achievement and perhaps he is being underrated as a manager heading into this job. But it does look to be an incredibly tough ask to avoid relegation at this moment in time. 

Leicester have not only swapped managers, but they’ve sold their best player to Chelsea. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was far too good to be playing in the second tier and he is likely to prove that this term in the capital, but Leicester themselves are going to struggle to replace the 12 goals and 15 assists he contributed last season. 

It’s also a big step up, as we saw last term when all three newly-promoted sides were instantly relegated. There’s also the giant elephant in the room of a potential points deduction coming down the line. Leicester avoided an EFL points deduction having been charged by the Premier League for allegedly breaking profit and sustainability rules. 

But, that could come back to bite them now they are back in the big league, although no points deduction has been applied as the season approaches. Selling Dewsbury-Hall will have certainly helped balance the books given he was an academy player so his transfer fee will be pure profit, but they may have already strayed over the line. 

In terms of their squad, Leicester have added Abdul Fatawa on a permanent deal after his loan last season, as well as Caleb Okoli, Michael Golding and Bobby Decordova-Reid. However, given Dewsbury-Hall has left and there are clearly limitations on what they can spend, I’m not sure they have the ability to cope with the step up. 

Kelechi Iheanacho has departed, and I don’t think there are many goals left in the ageing legs of Jamie Vardy, while Tom Cannon has failed to deliver so far. Stephy Mavididi is talented, but the central midfield areas don’t fill me with confidence. Harry Winks did well dropping down a level, but will he be able to run the show in the Premier League? 

Meanwhile, the defensive duo of Wout Faes and Jannik Vestegaard are likely to be exposed once again, and it remains to be seen whether Ricardo Pereira will return to a more traditional right-back role this season. All in all, there isn’t enough quality in this squad to stay up in my opinion, and although I like Steve Cooper, I think this could be a long old season for the Foxes. 

If the point deduction comes, I’d almost write them off completely. 

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