Leicester City

Kate Blakemore
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

Despite probably being one of the favourites for promotion, there have been no easy games so far for Leicester City and this weekend's away fixture at Oxford United was no different.

An early bath for loanee debutant Aaron Ramsey made for a gritty afternoon and most thought the point was well won and hard fought. Players showed unity, camaraderie, joy in celebrations and most importantly, effort and determination to play to the final whistle.

Marti Cifuentes also had an excellent week in terms of building some bridges between the fans and the club. His hour-long BBC interview last week gave fans a rare insight into the manager's views and aspirations; the type of personal interview not seen since Nigel Pearson in 2011.

It showed a man full of humility, a low ego and a fluency of football language that fans can understand. He answered questions with clarity and poise.

He gave insight into Leicester's recruitment strategy, where he highlighted that personality of any player is key and you get the feeling that this is a guy with high emotional intelligence which is both welcome and refreshing.

This is demonstrated in his team selections where he is starting players who are impressive in training and not those that perhaps have quality but lack will. Attitude and application over ability in these early months establishes standards.

It will be interesting to see how Marti's personality shines through the team in the coming weeks, now that the transfer window is closed, but the signs are looking promising. Rome wasn't built in a day and Marti has spoken openly of a 'rebuild', but he seems to relish the challenge and has no problem starting with the basics.

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Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes reacts to Saturday's 2-2 draw at Oxford United after playing almost 70 minutes with 10 men following Aaron Ramsey's red card.

"We will never be satisfied with or happy with a point. It doesn't matter if it's at home or away. On that part, I'm not happy with how we started the game, about the way we conceded two goals.

"But it was a difficult game because of the development of how it was, but I really value - and that is the part I want to take with me - the second half and the personality and courage that the players showed to turn around a difficult situation.

On Ramsey's red card: "Refereeing is always very difficult. I have my thoughts about it, and today is one of those days where, not only in this situation but other situations, that it is better I take a knife and cut my tongue and don't speak much."

Watch the full When You're Smiling podcast special with Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes from the BBC Radio Leicester studios.

The Spaniard joins Foxes commentator Owynn Palmer-Atkin and and former Leicester player Matt Piper for an hour-long interview.

Oxford United host Leicester City on Saturday early afternoon (12:30 BST) in a bid to claim their first victory of the season.

The U's have only one point to their name after their opening four league games, though they did gain it last time out with a 2-2 draw against Coventry City.

They will look to do one better against Leicester, who have won all but one of their league games so far (L1) to sit one point above the Sky Blues in fourth place.

It's been over three decades since the two sides last met in the English Football League - who will claim the first bragging rights of the 21st century?

• This will be the first Football League meeting between Oxford United and Leicester City since a 2-2 draw in the second tier in April 1994.

• Five of Leicester City's last seven Football League trips to Oxford United have ended in a draw (W1 L1), with both sides scoring in five of those games.

• Oxford have only won four of their last 22 league games (W4 D7), picking up the fewest points of any ever-present Championship side in that time (19 points since 22nd January).

• Leicester have won six of their last eight Championship games (L2), while the Foxes could record three successive league clean sheets for the first time since October 2022 in the Premier League.

• After a run of 15 games without a goal, Abdul Fatawu has scored in consecutive league appearances for Leicester for the first time.

Image source, PA Media

Leicester City manager Marti Cifuentes will be live in the BBC Radio Leicester studio for the first time for an hour-long special episode of When You're Smiling.

Tune in to BBC Radio Leicester at 18:00 BST on Thursday to hear Cifuentes with Owynn Palmer-Atkin and Matt Piper.

You can also follow along on our dedicated live text page.

Not able to tune in on the evening? Go to BBC Sport's Leicester City page to watch the full interview after it is broadcast.

"Having a manager that can really recognise when his squad needs adapting and players [that] need to be rested at certain periods, having that strength and depth to move things around. That's really important."

On the latest episode of When You're Smiling, Adam Whitty and former Foxes winger Matt Piper discuss how new signings will fit into the squad following the international break, assess Leicester City's season so far and analyse Marti Cifuentes impact and his ability to take Leicester City back to the Premier League.

Listen to the full episode of When You're Smiling and more Leicester City on Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City forward Jordan Ayew scored his sixth goal of Ghana's World Cup qualifying campaign to help keep them on course for the 2026 finals.

The 33-year-old gave the Black Stars a first-half lead against Chad before the home side equalised in the last minute as the game finished 1-1 in N'Djamena.

Ghana are three points clear at the top of their group with three more games to play, starting at home to third-placed Mali on Monday, with only the group winners guaranteed to qualify.

Ayew is Ghana's captain and his goal against Chad is the 32nd of his international career, having now made 114 appearances for his country.

"We want this situation sorted where we can go back to having normal transfer windows not talking about PSR again. It will be something that will haunt the club for many years to come."

Owynn Palmer-Atkin, Matt Piper and John Bennett round up the Transfer Deadline Day for Leicester City and discuss PSR and how it has impacted the Foxes this summer.

Listen to the full episode of When You're Smiling and more on BBC Sounds

"It looked a lot more disciplined after scoring and they were able to get into their shape and press, they looked like a functional side."

Owynn Palmer-Atkin is joined by former Foxes defender Michael Morrison to discuss Marti Cifuentes' game management and to hear from captain Ricardo Pereira after their 2-0 victory over Birmingham City on Friday.

Listen to the full episode of When You're Smiling and more on BBC Sounds

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Aaron Ramsey could be leaving Burnley and heading to Leicester City on loan before the window shuts at 19:00 BST.

The 22-year-old has played one game for the Clarets this season, scoring in the Carabao Cup second round win over Derby.

Leicester sources have confirmed to BBC Sport there is interest in signing the former Aston Villa player, while Burnley sources suggest a deal is close.

Ramsey's departure would come after the Turf Moor club agreed a deal to sign midfielder Florentino Luis from Benfica.

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

Four league games into the season and we already have our first international break, but it does give us time to reflect on Leicester City's start to the campaign.

Four league games, one Carabao Cup game and one pre-season friendly. That's how many games Marti Cifuentes has had in charge since he joined Leicester on 15 July. That was just 36 days before our first league game.

So six games in charge in total so far, that's almost a pre-season alone for some teams. On top of that, one free goalkeeper aside, Cifuentes has had to deal with a team that wasn't his, a team he could not add to before selling.

He lost first-teamers Mads Hermansen, Wilfred Ndidi, Conor Coady, Kasey McAteer, James Justin and Jamie Vardy. He also had to deal with players whose heads had been turned, such as Harry Winks and Bilal El Khannouss, all while dealing with players' reactions to the fans and fans' reactions to the performances.

Yet despite all this, Cifuentes beat a top-six Italian side, won three of four league games and has guided us to fourth in the league, the best position of the three relegated sides. Yes, we lost to Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup - they went on to also beat Premier League Sunderland on penalties - but he will have learned from this.

Of course, performances can be improved, but scoring 10 goals in six games under Marti and keeping three clean sheets makes for a promising start.

If you compare that to the 20 goals in 27 games under Ruud van Nistelrooy last season (six of which came against QPR in the FA Cup) along with just two clean sheets in those 27 games, Cifuentes' reign has begun a whole lot more brightly.

I am sure Chelsea already have all these stats noted!

Potter, Potter, who the hell is Potter?

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Image source, Rex Features

The future of Portsmouth winger Josh Murphy remains uncertain heading into the final hours of the summer transfer window.

The 30-year-old has been linked with a move to Leicester City and on Saturday it emerged that Portsmouth had rejected a bid from the Foxes for their star player.

BBC Radio 5 live reporter Chris Wise said , externalthat the bid fell "quite a way short" of Pompey's valuation.

Portsmouth's stance is that he is not for sale and Blues boss John Mousinho reiterated this after Saturday's 1-0 victory over Preston which Murphy played 90 minutes in.

"The only message I've been told is he isn't for sale and I'm pretty happy with that," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent after the game.

He then jokingly said that it would take a £50m bid from Real Madrid for them to even consider selling the winger.

Last season in the Championship Murphy scored seven goals and registered 14 assists as Portsmouth secured their second-tier status.

Clubs would have until 19:00 BST on Monday to finalise any deal for the attacker's services.

Image source, Rex Features

Leicester City head coach Marti Cifuentes says the win over Birmingham City offered real signs of a real "culture" growing within the team.

The relegated Foxes beat the previously unbeaten Blues with goals from Abdul Fatawu and Ricardo Pereira.

The result took them up to third with three wins from their opening four Championship games and it was successive victories after the setback at Preston North End two weeks ago.

After the misery of their second Premier League relegation in three seasons, Spaniard Cifuentes knows that he has to rebuild the club's confidence and mentality.

"I'm happy because it's never easy to win football games and at the same time we played against a good team that never made things easy for us," he told BBC Radio Leicester.

"Overall, from the performance there are a lot of things we can improve but the main thing for me is about building culture and identity.

"I see that the players care, and they are showing desire and commitment and the spirit we want to have as a foundation which is very positive.

"I'm happy for the young guys and the way the experienced guys are helping. I'm happy to see the commitment from the guys from the academy who were on the bench today. That is definitely a solid foundation."

Listen to the post-match When You're Smiling podcast on BBC Sounds