Leicester City

Leicester City are leading the race to sign 21-year-old Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward David Datro Fofana on loan. (Fabrizio Romano), external

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

Former Leicester caretaker manager and goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell believes Leicester need to improve after losing consecutive pre-season matches.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast Stowell said: "They're going to need to be a lot stronger, Spurs are considerably better than these outfits out here - we're only just over a week away.

"I'm not too concerned about results, it's performances - and I'm not sure that was good enough at this stage of the season."

Leicester start the season at home to Tottenham on Monday 19th August.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's friendly game between Augsburg and Leicester

Here are some of your comments:

Peter: I listened to the match on BBC Radio Leicester and I felt we were lacking enthusiasm and drive. We are still trying to get to know each other on the pitch and it's taking too long. I'm worried that we won't be ready for the start of the season.

Luke: What is happening? First we win three matches, including against a Europa League team, and now we’re losing matches. We need to get a striker and a central attacking midfielder.

Ray: Augsburg scored (as expected) after 10 minutes. I thought this would be a great test of both Steve Cooper and the team in pulling back the deficit as we will undoubtedly have to this season. So what happened? Absolutely nothing. No creativity, no goal threat, just powder puff attacks. Unless we sign a proven striker (not Jordan Ayew), we will be relegated.

Jim: Pre-season has been underwhelming so far…. and then some! Additions are needed. We are desperate for a creative player who can make incisive passes and a front man who can hold-up/ link play and score a minimum 12-15 this season. Cooper needs to quickly organise and set up patterns of play. Lots of work to do.

Nick: We need a striker and soon!

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City suffered a narrow 1-0 pre-season defeat to Bundesliga opposition Augsburg.

What did you learn from this game, Leicester fans?

Let us know your thoughts on the match here, external

The Premier League season is fast approaching and clubs are continuing their pre-season preparations.

Here's a look at where teams are in action on a busy Saturday.

Jack Rafferty
Leicester City presenter at BBC Radio Leicester

Image source, Leicester City via Getty Images

The outpouring of emotion at the news of Craig Shakespeare's death is a real testament to how much he is loved and respected around Leicester City.

As manager, he led the team on its greatest ever night as they beat Sevilla to reach the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017.

As assistant manager, he was an integral part of the side that lifted the Premier League trophy - the single greatest achievement in sporting history.

But it was the man away from the coaching achievements that made him so likeable.

If you had to think of one lasting image of Shakey, it would be with a ball under each arm, laughing with one of the players as they made their way back in to prepare for battle.

He was a fierce competitor, but one that was able to do it with a smile on his face.

Shakespeare is a much-loved member of the Leicester City family. The Blue Army will be forever grateful to him for that Champions League night.

May he rest in peace.

A special episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast shares tributes to former Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare, who has died aged 60.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your tributes to former Foxes manager Craig Shakespeare and wanted to know what impact he had at Leicester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: My thoughts and prayers with Shakey's family. It is an immense loss to football. He created some unforgettable memories for Leicester City fans. RIP.

Rob: Craig Shakespeare the real hero of the 2015-16 title-winning season. What a great man!

There have also been more tributes from those who had previously worked with Shakespeare during their careers.

Former Foxes defender Danny Simpson posted on X:, external "Gutted. Words can't even describe what this man did for me and my career at Leicester. I am so thankful to have had him in my life on and off the pitch. He was an unbelievable coach but an even better human being. RIP Shakey."

Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper said:, external "You only need to read the devastated reactions, outpouring of love and warm lovely words from so many to understand how much Shakey was loved and respected. Not just in football but throughout life. A lovely kind man each time I met him and clearly a wonderful football coach."

Former Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez posted a picture of himself and Shakespeare to his Instagram story, external accompanied with the caption: "No words".

Image source, Getty Images

Nigel Pearson has paid tribute to his great friend and fellow former Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare who has died aged 60.

Pearson worked with Shakespeare at five different clubs, including for eight years across two spells with the Foxes.

After Pearson left Leicester for a second time in 2015, Shakespeare remained to work under his replacement Claudio Ranieri and played a key role in the club's remarkable Premier League win the following season.

"It's difficult to put into words how I, and indeed everyone who came across or worked with Craig, will feel on hearing such devastating news," Pearson posted on X, external.

"He was without hesitation one of the most wonderfully talented, emotionally understanding, calm, balanced and outrageously funny people I've had the privilege of calling my friend.

"Safe journey to the next destination my wonderful friend. You are loved and admired by us all, and every time we think of you, a smile, smirk, chuckle or memorable occasion will come to us. We truly are the lucky ones for having known Shakey."

Leicester fans, what are you memories of Shakespeare and what did he mean to you and your club? Let us know here., external

Image source, Getty Images

Tributes have been pouring in from those who worked with former Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare, who has died at the age of 60.

Shakespeare also worked for West Brom, Hull, Everton, Watford, Aston Villa and Norwich and had a spell as England assistant boss in 2016.

Manchester City's Jack Grealish posted a message, external he received from Shakespeare when he was left out of England's Euro 2024 squad alongside a tribute: "One of the greatest people I’ve ever met not only in football but in life. Last month was texting me when I didn’t make the Euros squad while he was ill. It shows the type of man he was! An absolute heart of gold! Everyone really will miss you Shakey."

Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire wrote, external: "The man who signed me for Leicester, the man who gave me so much belief, the man I learnt so much from. I will be forever grateful. Football will miss you, life will miss you. An incredible man."

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, external: "I don’t have the words right now. Just gutted. RIP Shakey."

Former Leicester captain Kasper Schmeichel posted, external: "Devastated beyond words. An absolutely fantastic coach, one of the best I have ever seen, but more importantly, an incredible human being. He taught me so much, and I am just thankful to have worked with and known him."

Fellow former Foxes skipper Andy King tweeted, external: "Devastated to hear the passing of Shakey. Not only a brilliant coach but more importantly an amazing person. There through it all on the LCFC journey, none of which could have happened without him. RIP Shakes, thanks for everything."

Leicester's attempt to sign 24-year-old winger Reiss Nelson from Arsenal has stalled, as he is out of the Foxes' price bracket. (Leicester Mercury), external

Crystal Palace are open to letting 32-year-old forward Jordan Ayew leave this summer, with Leicester keen to sign the Ghana international. (Standard), external

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

Image source, PA Media

Tactics analyst Dominic Wells believes he has seen "some philosophies that have remained from Enzo Maresca's time" during Leicester City's early pre-season friendlies under new boss Steve Cooper.

Maresca led the Foxes to the Championship title last season before leaving for Chelsea in June, with ex-Nottingham Forest manager Cooper replacing him.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Wells said: "The biggest takeaway for me is how Cooper is trying to play in a similar ilk to Maresca.

"The way he reaches that end output is definitely different and there's fluidity there, but what I find really interesting is that Cooper is trying to take on board the positives of last season.

"He's not trying to come in and say 'we're going to play my style of football', he's trying to adapt to what's been done in the previous year, which has been a good year of squad building and we've got the right profile to play how Maresca wanted to. He's trying to build on that, instead of saying 'we're going to counter-attacking, defensive football now'."

Ex-Foxes winger Matt Piper added: "It's the clever thing to do. If you come in and something's not broken, don't try to fix it.

"Because of the level these players got to last season and how well they took the systems of Enzo and made them work on the pitch, you don't want to change too much.

"He's got to implement his own style and I'm sure he's doing that. The outcome of where he's trying to get to is very similar, but it's quite different in the build-up and the way he's trying to do it."

For more in-depth analysis, listen now on BBC Sounds

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Players like Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund are already suffering from hamstring injuries two weeks before the season even starts - and they say the modern preparation regimes are better, safer and more scientific!

They probably are better. At least the players do not have to go through some of the borderline sadistic routines that previous generations did. Back then, after a decent length of summer break, pre-season meant working incredibly hard over a short period of time to get yourself back in top condition fast.

Sprinting up and down gigantic sand dunes against the clock until many players were physically sick was de rigueur, alongside other road runs and track work.

Here is the weird part: I used to look forward to that, the way a class swot looks forward to exams. Being smaller, lighter and a committed long-distance runner all my young life, even before I became a pro footballer, it was, if not exactly a piece of cake, then certainly much easier for me than most of the rest of the team.

I have asked many modern managers what they would prefer to do in a perfect world during their pre-season. The most common answer is "just about anything other than what we are forced to do now!"

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A new episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast assesses Leicester City's pre-season performances so far and looks at how the Foxes may line up tactically in the Premier League under new boss Steve Cooper.

There is also an interview with Foxes full-back James Justin.

Listen now on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Pat Nevin, former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger writing in his Football Extra newsletter:

The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and let's be straight about this, the players generally hate these games, whatever they say.

They clearly haven't had enough rest in the summer, it is a grind getting your body back into peak shape, especially if the accumulated injuries from last season haven’t been allowed to fully recover.

The games themselves are weird affairs, where you would like to win but that is nowhere near the most important thing. Fitness, integrating new players, possibly a new manager and sometimes a new system are each more important. You also know full well that it is a hotch-potch of a team selection to give players minutes. The fans, mass media and social media will read far too much into every game and every performance.

From within the team itself, there are different motivations. A young or new player being given his first chance will be racing about like an overexcited spaniel. Other experienced players will be easing themselves back into it, the primary concern in their minds is to be fit and healthy come the first weekend of the Premier League season.

‌Deep down they don't worry if they get thumped by Celtic or DC United on their US tours, nobody at Chelsea or Aston Villa will remember or care about these results in two weeks' time.

‌Unless of course you are a DC or indeed Celtic fan. The Celts just beat Chelsea and Man City. Now that is impressive pre-season form or is that just Scottish bias.

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Former Leicester striker Matty Fryatt believes left-back Victor Kristiansen has the potential to be a big part of new manager Steve Cooper's plans for the club's' return to the Premier League.

Kristiansen signed for Leicester from FC Copenhagen for £17m in January 2023, making him the most expensive Danish Superliga player ever, but was loaned out to Serie A side Bologna for the 2023-24 season after the Foxes' relegation to the Championship.

The 21-year-old has returned to King Power Stadium and featured in Friday's 1-0 pre-season defeat to Palermo.

Asked if if Kristiansen would suit Cooper's system of having one full-back playing very high, Fryatt told BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast: "Absolutely. It would be made for him in terms of he is full of energy and he is 100 miles per hour all the time. Sometimes you need to find that balance but he's constant.

"He provides energy and he would be up and down. It would just be the other side of it, when he switches off [and makes] little mistakes.

"His effort and enthusiasm is there. He provides legs to get forward and that cross he put in [against Palermo] was outstanding.

"He's like a bottle of pop, he's 100 miles an hour and sometimes just needs to slow himself down at the right times. But, it's a fine line between being all at it and being a bit cool and composed.

"It's about finding that balance but he certainly provides legs going forward."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

Image source, Getty Images

Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

We asked for your views on Leicester's defeat to Palermo.

Here are some of your comments:

Jack: It was good to see some of the ideas taking shape. The result was disappointing but I think at this point we can forgive one mistake at the back, and overall we deserved more from the game. We still don’t look ruthless enough upfront in my opinion, so another striker wouldn’t hurt if we can afford it.

John: We need a playmaker in midfield. I’d like to see Billy Gilmour brought in. At less than £10m he’d be a good value acquisition.

Lewis: I was there at the game and we played good football at times but were also sluggish. We are nowhere near match fit but will be ready when league starts.

Peter: It again proves we need a striker to compete. Vardy will not be able to play week in week out, so we need a capable goalscorer. Also, I'm glad that I didn't pay to watch the game and listened to it on BBC radio instead. To get fans on board we need to improve quickly, try some of the younger players for longer and stop charging for pre-season.

Dan: Hard to gauge anything from pre-season in reality, but we looked pretty toothless up front. I want Patson Daka to come good but I just can't see it happening. Vardy can't be expected to carry us on his own, plus he's not getting any younger. We definitely need a striker to give us any hope of staying up, especially with points deduction.

Image source, Getty Images

Steve Cooper says Leicester City need to strengthen their attacking midfield options.

The Foxes lost 1-0 to Palermo in a friendly in Chesterfield on Friday.

In the aftermath, Cooper said: “We need to add players and that’s what we’re trying to do.

"Something needs to happen. We need players in as quickly as possible. We’re trusting each other to get the right ones in, and hopefully sooner rather than later.

“I think any part of the pitch where we can really make a difference in our game, we’re open to signings. I think there are some areas that are more prevalent in that fact.

“That’s what we’re trying to do. But if we can’t do things we want, I’m not going to moan about it. We’ll get on with it.

“But at the same time it would be nice to improve because the step up to the Premier League is a huge one and we’ve got to step up as a team. It’s exciting that we’re trying to bring in players we want and if we can get them over the line, it will help in our process of being a competing Premier League team again."

Cooper says he will wait to assess his striker options when Jamie Vardy returns from injury but it is in the attacking-midfield area that he sees a more urgent need to strengthen.

"I think that’s where I don’t mind saying we do need to add," said Cooper.

"We’re playing players there that wouldn’t naturally play there all the time. That’s certainly an area we’re looking to add into."

What did you make of the 1-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Palermo, Foxes fans? Did you spot anything Steve Cooper needs to work on before the season starts?

Let us know your thoughts here, external

Image source, Getty Images

On the latest episode of the When You're Smiling Podcast, Former Leicester academy product Ian Baraclough spoke about Stephy Mavididi, who played in a more central role in Leicester's pre-season victory over Shrewsbury:

"The manager is thinking I know what he can do in wide areas, I know what he gives us. Can he play just behind the striker? Or even play one up and be the striker who drops in? He needs to see if he can do that and throw him in a Premier League game.

"I think he's got the skillset for it. He can receive on the half turn, he's aware of the space around him and once he's allowed to drive with the ball he could be a dangerous player. Steve Cooper will have wanted to see those bits and I think he would have been quite happy with what he saw.

"With interchangeable nature of those players, he's got to know that somebody else can take that area. If any of the strikers drop deep to link, he's got to know that he's got players who will take the space left by the striker.

"It sounds like something that should happen normally but it takes a little while for players to get used to it and know when to take the space. All of these things you have to talk about and go through during the week but you want to see it during the 90 minutes. There's no better time than pre-season to experiment."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

On the latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast, Football Italia writer Giancarlo Rinaldi spoke about Palmero FC, who the Foxes face in their next pre-season match on Friday:

"They have changed manager, so that [their style of play] may alter. But last season they were always a good watch. They had one of the best attacks and one of the worst defences in Serie B so you've got your money's worth to watch them!

"Their new manager, Alessio Dionisi, was with Sassuolo last season who got relegated. But they were one of the most entertaining teams to watch. He likes to play a fairly aggressive 4-3-3. That might not translate to his new side but he's an entertaining manager and an ambitious guy.

"Palermo is a big team to be stuck in Serie B and they play some entertaining football."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds