Leicester City may have too great a mountain to climb to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, former striker Emile Heskey believes.
With a points deduction possible and with heavy squad rotation expected, Heskey foresees a tough season back in the Championship for his boyhood club.
City have been charged with three possible breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) that could see them start the campaign on negative points.
Before then, they need to readjust to the significantly-reduced revenue they receive in the second tier, and that means selling players.
While City’s wage bill is not as great as it was the last time they came down, they’ve had fewer players leave on free transfers, and they have fewer assets with which to make significant profit.
Those factors combined mean Heskey is not confident.
He told Casino Beats: “I don’t expect Leicester to come back up next season. I envisage a tough season for them back in the Championship. They may have a points deduction coming due to some PSR violations, which will make things more difficult.
“They’re going to lose a lot of the players they had in the side last season. They need to sign the players to mount a challenge to go back up, but I can’t see them being able to do that. It becomes about stability for them next season.”
One positive of City’s smaller transfer budget is that they will need to rely on the academy more.
There’s not only a wave of players coming through that allow City to build a squad with the foundations formed of academy graduates, but there’s a couple of the most exciting players to emerge since Heskey’s own breakthrough in Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans.
Heskey added: “I’d like to see them let some young players get some real experience under their belts, I really like Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans – they’re promising talents.
“They made their debuts last season, they’re local lads and I’d love to see them come through. Stability must be the order this season.”
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Jamie Vardy souvenir edition of the Leicester Mercury
It was certainly a fairytale ending to Jamie Vardy's Leicester City career - netting his 200th goal in his final match for the club.
To celebrate, we are launching a this special edition of the Leicester Mercury where we look back at the striker's amazing career - his journey from non-league to England international, his greatest goals and where he stands in the Foxes' list of all-time greats.
We also revisit the trophy-winning campaigns - the 2021 FA Cup and, of course, the 2016 Premier League title.
And there are plenty of tributes from those who played with him, against him and worked with him.
Jamie Vardy, it's certainly been a party!
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