Leicester

Leeds may have predicted a riot, but many Leicester fans predicted a return straight back up to the Premier League.

It has been a crazy season, but in a strange way one that was probably needed. Back in the 2007-08 season we finally lost our battle to avoid relegation and found ourselves in the third tier for the first time in our history. Three, yes three mangers did not help our cause and I am not including the two caretaker manager stints.

But relegation saw us have a major squad clear out, a new manager (Nigel Pearson), and a new philosophy around the club. The rest as they say is history. Does that sound familiar?

Our fall was quicker last season but fall we did. We had a clear-out of playing staff, brought in a new manager with a new philosophy and history has repeated itself – one step back to take two forward so to speak.

But promotion was only the first part of the plan. We may be starting from the pit lane next season but at least we are at the race. We need to establish ourselves back in the top flight before anything else.

Offer me 17th place right now and I would take it.

Oh by the way Leeds, how did that riot go?

Chris Forryan can be found at Leicester Till I Die, external

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In February, Leicester City lost 3-1 away to Leeds - reducing what had been a 17-point lead at the top of the Championship to just six.

Manager Enzo Maresca came into the changing room and said just one thing: "We will finish ahead of Leeds."

A deliberately timed, measured message with the purpose of spreading confidence.

Three months later, after just one season in the Championship wilderness and in his first full campaign as a number one in senior football, Maresca and Leicester are back in the big time as champions.

But there are clouds on the horizon. Leicester's fate could be set as much by decisions made off the field as those on it.

The euphoria created by promotion can not disguise the fact that not everything is well.

The news that Leicester face potential financial fair play issues is something Maresca only became aware of after the start of the season.

It is disingenuous to imagine that the club knew nothing about the potential problems they could be facing and not informing their Italian manager earlier is not a good look.

This is evidenced by the highly unsatisfactory January transfer window involving two deals in particular. Cesare Casadei was very much part of Maresca's plans after signing him on loan from Chelsea at the start of the season. Then Chelsea recalled him in the winter window.

Stefano Sensi, from Inter Milan, had come to the UK to help complete the deal once the two clubs had negotiated a fee for the player. Suddenly everything fell apart over concerns surrounding the club's FFP standing.

To say Maresca was unimpressed on both occasions would be an understatement.

Surviving in the top flight will be hard enough even without the handicap of having to start next season with a points deduction.

While Leicester's fortunes are not yet fully known, the one thing that is certain is that Maresca has no intention of changing his way of playing for the Premier League.

He also won't want to make some of the mistakes Vincent Kompany made at Burnley, believing most of his promoted squad could keep them up. Changes to Leicester's squad are required.

Maresca and his family are comfortable in Leicester. His children have stayed in England for most of their lives and any change of location always brings with it a degree of personal drama. But the Italian coach doesn’t see himself having a long career in management, so every step along the way has to be calculated with care.

It is logical that Maresca, with offers from European Cup winners and Spanish and Italian teams, and interest from English clubs, would consider all of his options after listening to the chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha during the squad break in Monaco on the Thai businessman's yacht.

Sevilla are among a number of clubs monitoring Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca after the 44-year-old led the team back to the Premier League. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Dennis Praet has confirmed his departure from newly-promoted Leicester City after a five-year stint at King Power Stadium.

The Foxes signed the Belgium international from Sampdoria in August 2019 for £18.4m, but he has since struggled to become a mainstay under former managers Brendan Rodgers and Dean Smith, and current boss Enzo Maresca.

Speaking to Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, external in an exclusive interview, the midfielder said he is looking for "something new" this summer, as he becomes a free agent with his current contract set to expire.

The 29-year-old added: "I am now physically at the peak of my career. I definitely want to become important somewhere again, so that I can find the fun in the game again.

"There are already a number of things going on, so I'm quite relaxed. I just have to be a little more patient. It's logical that some clubs do not yet know their budgets.

“I don't regret it [joining Leicester City]. I really wanted to go to the Premier League, that choice was quickly made. I have also experienced many beautiful moments.

"I just wanted to play a lot more. That is the painful part."

Praet will likely depart Leicester City as an FA Cup and Championship title winner.

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Thousands of Leicester City supporters flooded the city centre on Sunday to celebrate the Foxes' promotion to the Premier League, after setting a joint club-record of 31 league wins this season to secure their eighth second-tier title.

Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has been looking back on their past nine months in the Championship on the When You're Smiling podcast: "It has been an incredible season.

"I think he [Enzo Maresca] is a good manager that trusts his players. He puts in that belief. All of the players talk so highly of him.

"The other thing that shocked me was that after winning the Championship, they all piled round the gaffer's house! In my career, I played for 13 managers and never ever did I think I was going round the gaffer's house for a party!

"That shows you how close he is with this group."

• Listen to the full Leicester City parade podcast on BBC Sounds

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After lifting the Championship trophy, vice-captain Marc Albrighton spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Owynn Palmer-Atkin about winning yet another accolade with the club and his future at the club: "The feeling is like no other. There is nothing that can describe it.

"We've obviously had days like this before, but you forget the feeling and the joy that it brings when you are on that pitch with your family and team-mates lifting that trophy.

"I am forever grateful of moments like this.

"I was a bit reluctant to lift the trophy, having not played so much this season, but he [Jamie Vardy] is very persistent so I had no choice!

"It's an incredible feeling to go back up at the first time of asking, not many clubs do that. We are looking forward now to seeing what next season brings. I'm looking forward to seeing us, probably from the other side.

"I'm 99.9% sure it is [the last time I will be playing in a Leicester City shirt]. There is no official confirmation, but I think that's it. Do you know what - to go out in this kind of manner is just fitting and it just tops off an incredible 10 years [at the club]."

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Academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall also talked about his desire to get his boyhood club back to top-flight football this season, adding: "I will look back on this season with wonderful memories. I've loved every minute of it, even the highs and the lows. It has been a fantastic year. I'm so happy that we managed to finish it off with a bit of silverware.

"If you had told me that this would happen a year ago, I would've snapped your hand off for it. I can't complain - I'm buzzing.

"It's amazing. These are the things that you dream of as a kid. It is hard to put into words to be honest, it's a bit surreal after the lows of last year.

"I'm so happy because it's been such a tough year and I have come back now and helped the team secure promotion. That is all I ever wanted, so I'm a happy man."

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