The staggering amount Leicester City have spent in past five seasons explains downward spiral
Leicester City just had the worst possible winter transfer window and one statistic explains their downward spiral this term.
While relegation rivals Wolves signed three new players and Ipswich Town added five to their squad, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men only captured one signing.
Earlier in January, Woyo Coulibaly arrived from Parma in a deal worth just £3m. The Frenchman adds significant strength at right-back, though the board have failed Van Nistelrooy, who wanted four new signings.
Considering the Leicester manager was told he’d have money to spend this month, only landing the one recruit was a catastrophe and now one financial statistic perhaps explains their recent demise.
Leicester City are the Premier League’s lowest spenders in the past five seasons
As analysed by finance expert Kieran Maguire, the Foxes are the Premier League’s lowest spenders across the last five seasons, only accruing £258m in transfer fees since the 2020/21 campaign.
It makes for stark reading that Leicester have spent the least of their divisional rivals, with even fellow strugglers Everton and Southampton totalling less in transfer fees.
Without significantly improving the squad with quality players, the Foxes perhaps know that relegation is staring them in the face.
The Leicester owner has ultimately failed Van Nistelrooy, who has every right to be angry after the promise was broken, leaving the Dutchman with the most difficult task.
In truth, the damage in the transfer window was done by Steve Cooper in the summer of 2024 and he can shoulder some of the blame for awful recruitment.
Leicester City’s 2024 summer transfer window was a disaster
Supporters will have been fuelled with excitement after returning to the Premier League last year. Under the guidance of Enzo Maresca, the Foxes cantered to the Championship title.
Unfortunately, the Italian jumped ship to join Chelsea and fans were underwhelmed by the appointment of Cooper, as demonstrated by an awful summer of business.
Of the nine signings made, only Bilal El Khannouss, Facundo Buonanotte and Abdul Fatawu can be counted as success stories – the other six have been mostly abysmal.
Leicester shelled out £20m on Oliver Skipp, who has struggled to nail down a starting place, while the loan signing of Odsonne Edouard sums up what was a terrible window to prepare them for the Premier League.
The relegation battlers are sadly facing the repercussions of that transfer window now, with not enough quality in defence or attack to produce consistent performances.
