“Leicester City’s ‘Next Kylian Mbappé’ Set to Smash Records with Jaw-Dropping £70M Transfer!”

Leicester City’s build-up to the new season is anything but smooth, with the club potentially facing a nine-point deduction for allegedly breaching profit and sustainability rules during the 2023/24 campaign.

This looming penalty casts a shadow over their Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday in August and adds pressure to their efforts to secure promotion back to the Premier League.

So far, the Foxes have yet to make any signings this summer. However, they have appointed a new manager, Marti Cifuentes, who replaces Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Cifuentes, who left his role at Queens Park Rangers at the end of last season, will be tasked with revitalising a Leicester side still reeling from relegation and an inactive transfer window.

Adding to their frustration, Leicester have been reminded of a missed opportunity in the transfer market—namely Hugo Ekitike, the striker now set for a £70 million move to Liverpool.

Back in January 2022, then-manager Brendan Rodgers was already searching for a long-term successor to club legend Jamie Vardy, who recently departed after 13 stellar years at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester reportedly showed interest in Ekitike, who was emerging as a top talent at Reims, alongside Newcastle United. A £30 million price tag was discussed, but Leicester failed to make a decisive move.

Instead, Ekitike joined PSG on loan that summer, eventually securing a permanent transfer.

He struggled in Paris, scoring only four goals in 33 appearances, and later moved to Eintracht Frankfurt for £14 million in 2024. That switch proved pivotal.

Since arriving in the Bundesliga, the French striker has flourished—netting 26 goals and providing 14 assists in 64 appearances, including four in the Europa League.

Now 23, Ekitike has become one of Europe’s most in-demand forwards and has agreed personal terms with Liverpool, edging out previous suitors like Newcastle.

Leicester fans may now reflect on what could have been. Had the club shown greater ambition or decisiveness, Ekitike might have been wearing blue instead of red next season.

Such a signing could even have helped the Foxes avoid their 2023 relegation.

Highlighting his immense potential, Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder once drew bold comparisons between Ekitike and global superstars. Speaking in March 2022, Sneijder told Foot Mundo:

“I might say something really crazy, but I’ll say it anyway: I think he’s a mix between Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappé. I sincerely think so. He has the grace of Neymar, but also the movements of Mbappé.

To suddenly accelerate, that’s something that Mbappé also has. And he’s only 22 years old. There’s really a lot of potential in this boy.”

For Leicester, it’s a painful reminder of a golden opportunity missed.