Defending champions they may be, but can Leicester City repeat the miracle?

What Leicester City did last season is quite frankly the greatest achievement in football and quite possibly in the history of all sports. They won the 2015-‘16 Premier League title despite starting the season as relegation candidates. Their odds of winning the title at the beginning were 5000-1. Last season was an unprecedented one for the Premier League.

Most of the players in that Leicester team probably weren’t even household names in Leicester, let alone in England or the world. They were managed by Claudio Ranieri, a man who many believed was well past his peak. Almost nothing about Leicester at the start of last season would have convinced the most ardent fan that they would go on to win the big crown. But they did it. History was made!

Now the big question is – can Leicester City repeat the heroics from last season?

Not many believe that this is possible. They have players who have won the Premier League. So, the experience is there. They have bought more players, so the depth is there as well. They certainly will not have odds of 5000-1 at the beginning of the 2016-17 season. Yet, Leicester are not favourites to win the title and, for many, aren’t even expected to finish in the top four.

Last season's squad

The Leicester City squad at the end of last season was very thin. Their starting eleven was almost unchanged throughout the campaign. The biggest advantage Leicester had was that almost none of their players were injured for large periods. They had a total of only 18 injuries – the least – throughout the whole of last season. In comparison, Manchester City had the most with 69. The lesser the injuries, better the chance of maintaining a consistent selection.

Kasper Schmeichel was brilliant in goal and finally broke away from the large shadow of his father, Peter Schmeichel. The defence was superbly led by captain Wes Morgan and Robert Huth. The tireless work of Danny Drinkwater and endless running of N’Golo Kante helped Leicester to field a two-man midfield almost throughout the previous campaign. Full-backs Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs were solid and defended first before foraying forward.

Left winger Marc Albrighton and forward Shinji Okazaki were the unsung heroes in attack. But the most important pieces of the jigsaw were right winger Riyad Mahrez and striker Jamie Vardy. Mahrez got 17 goals and 11 assists, while Vardy was joint second-highest scorer with 24 goals. This propelled the Foxes to Premier League glory.

Problem areas

Almost nothing. Despite having a thin squad, the lack of major and long-term injuries negated the squad depth. The team accumulated 81 points with 23 wins, 12 draws and only three losses. While it might not have been enough in previous seasons, the faltering of the usual heavyweights helped Leicester in this regard.

They also didn’t have to contend with any European competition and were knocked out of both the League Cup and FA Cup quite early. This gave them a clear run in the Premier League. Leicester had enough time between matches for players to recuperate and also the chance to prepare better for every opponent.

Improving the squad

By winning the Premier League title, the Foxes have automatically qualified for the group stages of the Uefa Champions League. While this will add glamour to the season, it will also increase the burden on the playing and coaching staff. Leicester will travel to some of the more iconic cities and stadiums, while also hosting big-name teams. This is everything the owners might have wanted when they bought the club in August 2010.

However, European football gives a lot and takes a lot as well. Leicester would need a whole host of new signings to contend with the extra fixtures. They made quick signings like goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler from Hannover, central defender Luis Hernandez from Sporting Gijon and midfielder Nampalys Mendy from Nice. They have also signed 18-year-old striker Raul Uche Rubio from Rayo Vallecano and forward Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow.

While the signings certainly improve the squad, Leicester have also sold one of their best players from last season. Kante moved to Chelsea for £32 million. Quite a few football critics have pointed out that he was as important as Mahrez and Vardy for Leicester. Mendy may be in the same mould, but there is no guarantee that he can replicate Kante’s efforts from last season.

Issues to be addressed

There is talk that Leicester could also lose Mahrez before the transfer window closes. If that happens, then they would be seriously weakened despite adding more players. But if last season’s Professional Football Association’s Player of the Year stays, then that is one less headache manager Claudio Ranieri would have.

Centre-backs Morgan and Huth are 32 and 31 years of age respectively. While these are not ages that necessarily suggest the players are old, they are not young either. There will be tired legs towards the end of the campaign and another experienced yet younger central defender would be the way to go. Similarly, both their full-backs Simpson and Fuchs are 29 and 30 respectively. This is effectively an ageing defence. One or even two younger full-backs could be required.

The wings are not an issue if Mahrez stays. The 25-year-old, accompanied by Albrighton performed admirably with youngsters Jeffrey Schlupp and Demarai Gray proving able substitutes. All four of them are fast, which aides Leicester’s quick counter-attacking style.

The midfield has lost Kante but they still have Drinkwater, Mendy, Andy King and Switzerland international Gokhan Inler. Now, Inler is an experienced midfielder, but he only played five matches in the Premier League. This was due to Kante and Drinkwater’s exceptional performances.

Vardy and Okazaki were very good together in attack and Leonardo Ulloa almost stepped up every time he came on as a substitute. With Uche, Musa and Tom Lawrence in their ranks, the forward line also seems to be adequately addressed.

What can we expect from the revamped squad?

What happened last season was a freak occurrence. The same cannot be realistically expected again. With Manchester United, City and Chelsea spending vast sums on players, they will most-probably be there at the top end of the table come May 2017.

Usual suspects Arsenal will mostly occupy their customary position in the top four without it being the top spot. North London rivals Tottenham were the best team to watch last term and they have retained most of their squad while adding a few quality players. Liverpool have no European football to contend with, so one can expect them to do better as well.

Any position below sixth would be considered a poor one in reality for Leicester. Most of their players do not have the experience of playing two matches every week. Last season, everything clicked. All the players simultaneously had their best seasons. This was the main reason why they won the Premier League title.

For Leicester to do it again, they need more than that. Now they will be treated as champions and other teams will devise more careful plans to outwit them. On many occasions last season, they weren’t given enough respect, which let the Foxes to sneak past the opposition. Their extreme counter-attacking style might have to be tweaked a bit. They will have to play more possession football against the lesser likes.

Our prediction: Sixth