Yahoo News Every Leicester City player's contract and future ahead of transfer window
By signing up Jamie Vardy and Jannik Vestergaard and by waving goodbye to Marc Albrighton, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Dennis Praet, Leicester City have confirmed the futures of five of their players.
But what about the rest? Here, we run down when each City’s player contract expires and what their future might hold in this summer and beyond.
Deals expiring in 2024
There’s now only one senior City player whose deal runs out at the end of this month. The club have said they are in talks with Wilfred Ndidi over a new contract and hope to convince the Nigerian to stay.
It seems he may be keeping his options open as he heads towards free agency, and there’s likely to be plenty of interest given the levels he’s reached in the past. The manager they appoint and their plans for Ndidi could be a factor in whether he stays.
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Deals expiring in 2025
City will be in the same position with Jamie Vardy next summer as they were this summer, with the club icon’s contract expiring. By then, Vardy will be 38 and the likelihood of City signing up for a season where he turns 39 seems slim. But Vardy has insisted his legs feel good and if he bags plenty of goals in the upcoming season, City may feel his story shouldn’t end there.
The new manager will have their own thoughts on the goalkeeping pecking order, but even so, Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen may find it difficult to factor into their plans. Both were out of favour this past season, and both now enter the final 12 months of their deals, signalling potential moves away this summer.
Lewis Brunt could exit too, with the defender targeted by Mansfield, where he excelled on loan this past season. That leaves Kasey McAteer. He made plenty of good contributions as City won the Championship title and he looks a prime candidate to get a new contract.
Deals expiring in 2026
There are 10 City players who have two years remaining on their deals, including plenty of key players. Even without Enzo Maresca in charge, Ricardo Pereira and Harry Winks are likely to be important to City’s success in the upcoming campaign, and they are only 30 and 28 years of age respectively, and so should still have plenty to offer in two years’ time.
James Justin is also set to play a significant role, and as an England international at a good age, City are unlikely to want his contract to run into its final 12 months, so a new deal before next summer feels possible. However, he is one of the few players in the squad that City could make a profit on, so amid concerns over Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), his immediate future is not certain.
Jakub Stolarczyk, Sammy Braybrooke, and Wanya Marcal look to have bright futures ahead of them and as long as they continue to show signs of fulfilling their potential, the club will want to keep them around. The same will be true of Will Alves, but the expiry date of his contract is unknown.
Patson Daka faces an interesting summer. He nearly left last year before earning his place back and featuring regularly over the second half of the season. But how does he feel about his future now? And what will the new manager make of him?
There has been speculation around the future of Conor Coady already this summer after he featured less often than expected in the season just gone. He’ll be 33 when his current contract ends.
Decisions are also required this summer on Boubakary Soumare and Luke Thomas. They spent the past year out on loan, and it will be up to the new manager to decide if they can be reintegrated back into the squad.
Deals expiring in 2027
While City may not be in a strong position regarding PSR, therefore increasing the likelihood that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be sold this summer, they are at least in a strong position over his contract. With three years remaining on his deal, that should raise his value in the transfer market.
Wout Faes is another City could make profit from and he too is on a lengthy contract. His centre-back partner Jannik Vestergaard now has one of the longest deals at the club after signing up last week.
Two players who signed deals during last season are also tied down to 2027. While the future of Hamza Choudhury beyond the next three years may not be certain, City will hope that Ben Nelson is well on his way to fulfilling his potential by then.
Deals expiring in 2028
Three of the five players on the longest contracts at the club barely featured last season. Victor Kristiansen had an enjoyable campaign out on loan at Bologna and his future at City is something that will need to be determined this summer. That’s true for Harry Souttar too, the centre-back out of favour under Enzo Maresca. And City fans did not see as much of Tom Cannon as they would have liked, albeit, at just 21 years of age, he was signed as a player for the future.
Stephy Mavididi will be a regular for City in the Premier League, and supporters will hope Mads Hermansen is too. Early signs suggest the Danish goalkeeper could be the club’s number one for years to come, but equally, his qualities both in shot-stopping and with his feet may mean he is targeted by bigger clubs.
