Report: Leicester City Decide on ‘Outstanding’ Player’s Future, Sheffield United and Stoke Interested

admin July 26, 2024

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LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 01: Brendan Rogers, Manager of Leicester City, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Leicester City at Selhurst Park on April 01, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Following Enzo Maresca’s departure, Leicester City has been working diligently to strengthen their squad under new manager Steve Cooper.

Leicester owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has supported his new manager in the transfer market, with four first-team players arriving at the King Power Stadium. Issahaku Fatawu, Caleb Okoli, Michael Golding, and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have all joined the Foxes on permanent deals.

Additionally, Leicester has opened talks with Arsenal for Reiss Nelson regarding a potential loan move with an obligation to buy.

On the outgoing front, Leicester has been active as well. They need to replace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall following his £30m transfer to Chelsea. Furthermore, Kelechi Iheanacho, Dennis Praet, and Marc Albrighton were all released by the club last month.

Now, another first-team player appears set to depart the King Power in the 2024 summer window.

ENGLAND – JULY 23: Harry Souttar of Leicester City looks on during the Pre-Season Friendly between Shrewsbury Town and Leicester City at Croud Meadow on July 23, 2024 in Shrewsbury, England.

Leicester City to let Harry Souttar leave this summer

Harry Souttar joined Leicester from Stoke City in January 2023 for £15m. However, the center-back struggled to secure game time under former manager Enzo Maresca, making just three Championship appearances last season.

The Australian might have hoped for more opportunities under Cooper, but that does not seem to be the case.

According to John Percy, as reported by Leicester Live, Leicester will allow Souttar to go out on loan for the 2024/25 campaign. A return to the Championship seems likely for the 25-year-old, with Sheffield United and Stoke expressing interest.

Should Leicester let Harry Souttar leave?

Souttar may have struggled for minutes under Maresca, but he previously earned high praise from Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers, who was Leicester manager when the club signed the defender, quickly labeled him as ‘outstanding’.

Rodgers stated: “Big Harry’s a presence, but he can also play football – anybody who saw him at the World Cup, he was outstanding there. For him to come in, having only just joined the club, and into a real tough away game, up against Watkins, who’s a really good player, I thought he did really well.”

Souttar is currently competing with Wout Faes, Conor Coady, Ben Nelson, Jannik Vestergaard, and summer signing Okoli for a place in the Foxes’ backline. Had Cooper opted to deploy a five-back formation, as he did with Nottingham Forest, Souttar might have had a chance to feature regularly in 2024/25.

However, with Leicester setting up in a back-four in all their pre-season games so far, the decision to loan the 25-year-old appears to be a smart one.