Leicester City needs to leverage their £100m King Power academy investment to secure future transfer profits.

Leicester City have a unique opportunity to achieve something they never have before. In 2021, the club unveiled its state-of-the-art training ground in Seagrave, marking the latest step by King Power to elevate Leicester to the top tier of world football.

This training complex, if you’ve had the chance to visit, is truly remarkable.

Situated in the north of the county, it cost £100 million to build and is considered one of the best training facilities in England.

The site includes 21 playing surfaces, 14 of which are full-size pitches, a 499-seater floodlit pitch, a bespoke gym, and advanced hydrotherapy facilities.

This significant investment reflects the club owners’ commitment to long-term growth and development.

However, there’s a growing concern despite these world-class amenities.

Before Leicester’s Carabao Cup second-round victory over Tranmere Rovers, there was frustration over the limited opportunities given to the promising talents in the club’s academy.

Steve Cooper, known for nurturing young talent from his time with England, included highly-rated Will Alves and striker Chris Popov on the bench and gave them over 20 minutes of playtime.

Despite this, there are worries that the club isn’t fully leveraging its academy talent, which is troubling. For example, the Under-21 team recently defeated Liverpool, with goals from Amani Richards.

Yet, this achievement went largely unnoticed, in part because Leicester’s official social media channels do not provide the same level of coverage for youth matches as other clubs do.

Currently, several promising players are emerging from the academy ranks.

Will Alves, Sammy Braybrooke, and Logan Briggs have all made cameo appearances in the first team.

Beyond them, players like Josh King, Jake Evans, Jayden Joseph, and Jeremy Monga show great potential.

On Tuesday, after Wilfred Ndidi scored to make it 3-0, excitement grew at King Power Stadium and among fans watching from home when Alves and Popov entered the game.

Despite the enthusiasm for Alves and other Under-18 talents, there’s a sense that the club is missing an opportunity with its academy. Other clubs worldwide are well-regarded for how they develop and promote youth talent.

For instance, Benfica has generated over £300 million from selling academy graduates like Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Neves, and Ederson.

Similarly, Ajax has made over £210 million from players such as Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Jurrien Timber, and Donny van de Beek.

In England, despite recent criticism, Chelsea has raised £217 million from the sales of players like Mason Mount, Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, and Lewis Hall. Leicester, too, has benefitted from its academy in the past, but that success seems to have waned recently.

In the past two summers, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harvey Barnes left the club for a combined £68 million, with Ben Chilwell bringing in £45 million in 2020.

Players like Hamza Choudhury, Ben Nelson, Luke Thomas, and Kasey McAteer are all part of the first team.

The club’s financial situation would look very different without these few successes.

Recently, Trey Nyoni and Tyrese Noubissie moved to Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively, for modest fees.

Such situations could become more common if Leicester does not prioritize using its academy to its advantage.

The club must do more. Despite off-the-pitch criticism, Leicester’s academy is a goldmine.

Developing a player through the ranks, having them become a first-team regular, and eventually selling them for a significant sum is a challenging but effective way to maintain financial stability.

When considering clubs like Ajax, Benfica, Chelsea, Southampton, and Athletic Bilbao, youth development is a core element of their strategy.

Leicester needs to adopt a similar approach, making youth promotion a cornerstone of the club’s philosophy while continuing to focus on achieving results at the first-team level.