With promotion ruled out barring a miracle, Leicester City's squad will undergo huge changes over the summer as they adjust to a second season outside of the Premier League
leicestermercury
Jordan Blackwell
15:36, 13 Feb 2026
Harry Winks is out of contract in the summer and unlikely to remain at Leicester City
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Harry Winks is out of contract in the summer and unlikely to remain at Leicester City(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
In the list of the divisions that Leicester City could be competing in next season, the Premier League has a line drawn through it. Only the Championship and League One remain.
Chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddahanaprabha may have said a few weeks ago that the play-offs were still there for the club to target, but after a six-point deduction and four straight losses, it would take a miracle to get there now.
So City will be playing in the second or third tier. Whichever it is, their squad will undergo huge changes.
Because the club will need to adjust financially. There’s a huge difference that comes with being outside of the Premier League.
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When City were last in the Championship in 23-24, there was a £70m drop in broadcast and sponsorship revenue. Without the big payday of returning to the Premier League straight away, City are going to have to make huge changes.
At the very least, it seems 17 first-team players will say their goodbyes this summer.
Let’s start with the five loanees. It would not have been expected that Aaron Ramsey, Divine Mukasa or Dujuan Richards would join the club permanently anyway, and there would be doubts over Joe Aribo and Jordan James doing so too.
Aribo is a free agent in the summer, and so an impressive few months may have earned him a deal at City. But a prolonged stay in the Championship makes that seem unlikely, especially with the Nigerian reported to be on good wages.
For James, City have an option to buy the Welshman in his loan contract, but relegation would certainly prevent a deal from happening, and staying in the Championship may do so too.
Then there are the seven players who are out of contract. For the big names among them, like Ricardo Pereira, Harry Winks, Jordan Ayew, and Patson Daka, their profiles and higher wages will likely mean their City careers come to a close, with contract offers extremely unlikely.
Asmir Begovic and Jamaal Lascelles may be more likely to get new contracts, but even their wage packets may be too much when the rest of the squad is considered.
Winger Wanya Marcal, who has only played one senior game this season, also sees his deal expire in the summer.
Then there are the players who City could sell to fill that financial hole and allow them to rebuild. Bilal El Khannouss will make his loan move to Stuttgart permanent, while Wout Faes may do the same at Monaco.
Closer to home, City’s prized assets may have to be sold. Abdul Fatawu, Ben Nelson and Jeremy Monga are the trio who would likely fetch the biggest profits and City may need to sell all three.
The exits are unlikely to stop there. If City can recoup some cash for some players or get those on big wages out of the door, then they are likely to take that opportunity.
No matter how this season concludes, City’s squad is set to look extremely different next season. For the new manager and the new sporting director, it's going to be the biggest job of the summer.
First-team City players (likely to leave in bold)
Goalkeepers: Stolarczyk, Begovic, Vieites, Bausor
Centre-backs: Lascelles, Okoli, Souttar, Vestergaard, Nelson
Full-backs: Ricardo, Aluko, Kristiansen, L Thomas, Choudhury
Central midfielders: Skipp, Winks, James, Page, Golding, Aribo
Attacking midfielders: Ramsey, Mukasa, De Cordova-Reid
Wingers: Monga, Mavididi, Marcal, Fatawu, S Thomas, Richards
Strikers: Daka, Ayew
Out on loan: Coulibaly, Faes, Braybrooke, El Khannouss, Alves, Evans
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