Steve Cooper's cry for more Leicester signings may fall on deaf ears

Adam Hlozek's imminent move to Leicester has brought a sigh of relief among supporters who were starting to fear history would repeat itself.

The Czech forward was due to join on an initial loan deal from Bayer Leverkusen, with a bid also in for Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis. It remains to be seen whether these deals will be enough to calm a troubled fanbase.

After last Saturday’s 3-0 friendly defeat at Lens, manager Steve Cooper could not have been clearer. ‘We’re all crying out for some fresh blood, especially the players,’ he said. ‘Today it showed that.

‘We had players playing out of position. Let’s hope we can strengthen sooner rather than later. In certain areas of the pitch, we’re desperate for it and have been for a while.

‘We need to make the squad stronger. That is most important. It’s natural when you step up to the Premier League from the Championship that you have to strengthen a lot if you want to give yourself a chance of succeeding.

‘I don’t think it would be right to put a number on it, but it’s certainly more than a couple. The players want that as well. It gives everybody a boost.

‘They’re asking. They know. Some of them have played in both leagues and they know the difference. That’s what the desire is. Let’s hope we can make that a reality.’

Sound familiar? Let us jog your memory further. Before the start of the 2022-23 campaign, then-Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made strikingly similar remarks in pre-season.

Rodgers said he had left for his holiday at the end of the 2021-22 season believing he would be able to overhaul his squad, and even sounded out players during the close-season. He then said he was told on his return in July that such funds would not be available and he would have to manage with what he had.

The die was cast. Leicester never really recovered from a dreadful start that yielded a single point from their first seven matches. Rodgers was sacked in April and his short-term replacement Dean Smith was unable to stop the Foxes sliding into the Championship.

The circumstances two years ago were different in some aspects. Leicester’s squad should have been plenty good enough to avoid relegation, whereas this year staying up will be a challenge – even without factoring in a possible points deduction for breaching spending rules.

And whereas Leicester signed only one outfield player, Wout Faes, in summer 2022, they have been busier this time. They have spent nearly £32million on Abdul Fatawu, who had a successful loan stint last season, Caleb Okoli and Michael Golding, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid arriving on a free transfer and Facundo Buonanotte on a season’s loan. Victor Kristiansen and Luke Thomas have also returned from loan stints.

Though the signing of Hlozek and possibly Ioannidis would improve things further, Leicester’s squad is arguably weaker than the one promoted to the Championship. Key midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall followed manager Enzo Maresca to Chelsea, Kelechi Iheanacho, Dennis Praet and Marc Albrighton departed when their contracts expired while last season’s loanees Yunus Agkun and Callum Doyle are now elsewhere.

With Cooper clear on where he thinks the squad needs strengthening, the spotlight will again fall on director of football Jon Rudkin. Rodgers claimed not to have known the financial situation of the club at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, and Maresca hinted at the same during his time in charge. 

Of course there are two sides to every story but if Cooper has also not been shown the full picture, that is worrying.

Leicester have been battling financial issues ever since they made a big push to qualify for the Champions League, only to fall at the final hurdle in 2020 and 2021. While the hierarchy cannot be blamed for performances on the pitch, it is vital that the coaching team and those who run the show are aligned. If they are not, what already looked a tricky season will quickly become a whole lot more difficult.