Leicester City have made a habit of wasting money on talent in the transfer window.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was only able to capture one player in the winter window as Woyo Coulibaly arrived from Parma, although the damage was mostly done from the summer.
Under the unpopular Steve Cooper, Leicester prepared for their Premier League challenge in the worst way possible, throwing money down the drain.
One example was Leicester signing Oliver Skipp for £20 million, with the 24-year-old only starting seven times since making the switch to the King Power Stadium.
Leicester have also wasted loads on Odsonne Edouard, who has failed to impress since joining on loan from Crystal Palace, along with the £12.4m signing of Caleb Okoli.
Scattergun recruitment has ultimately placed the Foxes in a position of danger, and it isn’t just underwhelming signings that have resulted in their PSR issues.
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The £190 million worth of talent Leicester City let leave for £0
In the years that followed their Premier League triumph in 2016, Leicester splashed the cash on several stars.
Leicester’s record-signing Youri Tielemans signed from Monaco for £38 million in July 2019, meanwhile, Ayoze Perez, Islam Slimani and Kelechi Iheanacho were all brought in for big money.
Remarkably, since winning the top flight almost nine years ago, the Foxes have let £192 million worth of talent leave on a free transfer, exposing their lack of long-term planning.
| Player | Bought for | Leave |
| Youri Tielemans | £38m | Free |
| Ayoze Perez | £28m | Free |
| Islam Slimani | £26m | Free |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | £23m | Free |
| Caglar Soyuncu | £18m | Free |
| Adrien Silva | £18m | Free |
| Dennis Praet | £17m | Free |
| Nampalys Mendy | £12m | Free |
| Filip Benkovic | £12m | Free |
Frustratingly, some players on that list have predictably gone onto bigger and better things since leaving the King Power Stadium. Tielemans is starring in Aston Villa’s Champions League campaign after joining the Villans in 2023.
Forward Perez has also discovered his goal-scoring groove in Spain with 12 goals in 17 appearances for Villarreal, with nine of them coming in La Liga.
Jon Rudkin is responsible for Leicester City’s failure
In some cases, Leicester had no choice but to let players leave on a free transfer. Tielemans, for instance, saw his contract expire when they were relegated to the Championship.
That being said, it does show a lack of planning from the Foxes and perhaps explains why they’re in a mess with PSR.
Director of Football Jon Rudkin is the man to blame for their failures in the transfer window, as the 57-year-old has been the main driving force behind the club’s recruitment for many years now.
Leicester fans hit out at Rudkin against Everton and rightfully so, as he’s often made poor signings, shown a lack of ambition and failed to get deals over the line.
Letting £190 million worth of players leave for nothing is just the icing on the cake, and Leicester must think about sacking Rudkin for the greater good.