Leicester City’s pending relegation back down to the Championship was made one step closer on Sunday after a 3-0 loss against Manchester United.
The Foxes were toothless at the King Power Stadium as the Red Devils secured one of their best results under Ruben Amorim with Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Holjund both ending their goalscoring droughts for United.
With Wolves also extending their gap between themselves and Leicester after beating Southampton, results this weekend feel like the real nail in the coffin for the Foxes and their hopes of staying up in the Premier League.
Indeed, this season has been a total disaster for the East Midlands side, with Troy Deeney highlighting how Leicester’s recruitment has been a key reason behind the collapse in the Premier League, and one player’s absence on Sunday really showed just how bad recent signings have been for the Foxes.
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Olivier Skipp’s absence sums up Leicester’s poor recruiting
Olivier Skipp was signed for £25m last summer by Leicester in what was the biggest transfer the newly-promoted Premier League side made during the off-season, with the English midfielder one of eight additions made by John Rudkin.
However, as pointed out by the Athletic, only one summer signing in Bilal El Khannouss was named in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s starting XI, with Skipp not even winning a place on the bench alongside fellow arrival Odsonne Edouard.
Even with Skipp winning praise from former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, the 24-year-old’s move to Leicester has been nothing short of underwhelming, with the midfielder failing to recapture any sort of glimpse of the form that made the 24-cap England youth international once a prized prospect.
And Skipp’s absence on Sunday perfectly highlighted just how poor Leicester’s recruiting has been since returning to the Premier League, with big changes needed in the summer if the former English champions are to return to the top of the game.
How has Oliver Skipp actually performed for Leicester this season?
Skipp has been one of many flop signings at Leicester this season, with the midfielder under more scrutiny than most given just how much the Foxes paid Tottenham to lure the 24-year-old away from north London.
| Olivier Skipp’s 2024/25 Leicester City stats | |
| Games played | 20 |
| Minutes played | 965 |
| Succesful passes per 90 | 34.79 |
| Successful dribbles per 90 | 0.47 |
| Expected assists per 90 | 0.03 |
| Total chances created | 8 |
| Tackles won per 90 | 0.47 |
And looking at Skipp’s relevant stats for the season, it’s clear that Leicester got a bad deal with the English midfielder, with Skipp simply not performing at the level needed for a club to survive in the Premier League.
With a return to the Championship on the cards, though, Skipp will have a chance to regain his best form in a division where he has previously dominated, with Leicester likely to see the midfielder play his best football when back in the second-tier.