Leicester City Welcome Back Five Players, Offering Steve Cooper More Transfer Choices

Leicester City have regained full strength with the return of their international quintet to training at Seagrave.

The five City players who participated in the European Championship and Copa America had been given an extended break. On Monday, two weeks after their teammates resumed training, they began their preparations for the new season.

This means that summer acquisition Bobby De Cordova-Reid is now training alongside his new teammates for the first time since joining from Fulham on a free transfer. It also gives City manager Steve Cooper the opportunity to evaluate goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, last season’s primary centre-back duo Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard, as well as Victor Kristiansen.

Kristiansen’s situation is particularly intriguing this summer. He spent the previous season on loan at Bologna, where he helped them secure a Champions League spot. Kristiansen had requested a move away due to dissatisfaction with the position Enzo Maresca had envisioned for him. With Cooper potentially employing full-backs in a more traditional role compared to Maresca’s inverted approach, Kristiansen could have a significant role to play this season.

Cooper also faces decisions at centre-back with the return of Faes and Vestergaard. He has additional options in Conor Coady, Ben Nelson, Harry Souttar, and new signing Caleb Okoli. This plethora of choices means that one of the six centre-backs might be transferred. Cooper’s preferences will be pivotal in determining who remains and who departs.

“We’ve got the boys returning from international duty,” Cooper remarked. “It’s crucial they got a few weeks of rest. They needed it. They rejoin on Monday, which will be beneficial.”

It’s unlikely that the quintet will participate in City’s first public pre-season match against Shrewsbury on Tuesday night, meaning that younger players will continue to fill the gaps in the squad. Last week, Cooper took development squad players Brandon Cover, Sammy Braybrooke, Will Alves, Logan Briggs, and Silko Thomas to Evian with the first-team squad. These young players will be eager to seize opportunities to advance into the senior team.

“We’ve had young players here, which is always important to me and to the club,” Cooper stated from Evian. “They’ve undergone good training and many have had valuable minutes, so they’ll return in a stronger position.”