In an effort to stay up in the Premier League this time around, Leicester City had one of the most active summer transfer windows of any team in the top flight, investing heavily in a few players while signing a handful of more bargain additions – or loans.
At the end of the window, Leicester City have a more balanced and well-rounded squad with the upside of having a few contributors who could explode for big 2024/25 seasons that could play a pivotal role in the Foxes avoiding the drop.
Here is a grade for every major Leicester City signing of the summer 2024 transfer window. All prices are courtesy of Transfermarkt.
DM Oliver Skipp, €23.5M
Oliver Skipp is one of the most gifted young midfielders in English football, but the 23-year-old never quite took off at Tottenham, failing to nail down a starting spot in his five seasons at the club, only starting five games last season.
Leicester City are taking an expensive gamble on Skipp in the hopes that he can become the top-class Premier League player he was meant to be at Tottenham, and maybe experience has served the young English midfielder well.
After all, Skipp is still young, and he has shown real quality as a ball-winner and progressor at times. Leicester City may have ideally liked to sign Skipp for 5-10 million euros less, but if they are sold on him, this isn’t the worst price point in the world, even if Skipp has a lot to prove still.
Grade: C
AM Bilal El Khannouss, €20.5M
The latest exciting attacking midfielder from Belgium, Blial El Khannouss is only 20 years old but was already coveted so much by Leicester City that they pushed forcefully to nab the Genk man for around 20 million euros.
El Khannouss is expected to be the long-term heir to James Maddison’s throne, and the young Moroccan star once had five assists in a single season for Genk as a teenager.
It’s unclear how he fits into the Foxes’ starting lineup, but as the season rolls on, El Khannouss will eventually be entrusted more starts and could shake up the system by bringing the No. 10 role back to the club.
That said, because he comes with a pretty nifty price tag without any proven track record of success in a top club, El Khannouss is a gamble.
Grade: C
CB Caleb Okoli, €14M
The 23-year-old center back Caleb Okoli is one of the most underrated young gems at the position in world football, and he could very well go down as the best signing of the summer 2024 transfer window for the Foxes.
In Okoli, Leicester City are getting a center back who flashed world-class potential for Atalanta in nine starts and eight appearances off the bench in the 2022/23 season, and then he was a full-time starter in Serie A for Frosinone on loan upon their promotion in 2023/24.
Last season, Okoli averaged 2.5 combined tackles and interceptions per game for Frosinone with 4.4 clearances and 0.4 dribbles allowed per match. He should be a regular starter sooner rather than later for Leicester City and is one of the most underrated additions in the Premier League of the entire window.
Grade: A
ST Jordan Ayew, €5.9M
The 32-year-old Jordan Ayew is hardly the most exciting attacking addition Leicester City could have signed, and he’s actually never scored double-digit goals in a single Premier League season.
In fact, Ayew hit a career high 12 goals for Lorient all the way back in the 2014/15 season, and he’s never registered 10 since. But Ayew is more about the goals, as the veteran likes to draw fouls and bring his teammates into the game.
At around six million euros, Ayew is a decent signing for Leicester City and balances out the attack a bit, given all the young wingers and playmakers elsewhere like Abdul Fatawu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte.
Grade: C
CM Michael Golding, €5.9M
The 18-year-old Michael Golding is an opposite kind of a six million euro punt for Leicester City, as Golding a virtual unknown in the Premier League, signed as a U21 prospect from Chelsea this summer.
Chelsea do have a penchant for developing serious academy talents, and Leicester City will hope that they are unearthing one in the center midfielder, who made his first-team debut for the Blues back in January in the FA Cup against Preston North End.
As with the other Leicester City punts, it’s hard to say if Golding is worth the investment. A six million euro fee for an unknown prospect is not an insignificant investment, but if Golding busts, it won’t be a signing anyone remembers for the bad anyway.
Grade: C
RW Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Free
Although Bobby De Cordova-Reid has never been an impact attacking player at the Premier League level, he’s pulled off a couple of brilliant seasons in the Championship for both Bristol City and Fulham.
Last season, De Cordova-Reid scored six goals for the Cottagers across 17 starts and 16 bench appearances, and he has sufficient dribbling skills, goal-scoring contributions, and creativity to be a key part of the Leicester City rotation.
As a free signing, the 31-year-old Jamaican international should prove to be a real asset to a Leicester City attack that could use any source of goals it can get. De Cordova-Reid won’t be a nailed-on starter for the Foxes, but he should get his minutes in.
Grade: B
ST Odsonne Edouard, Loan
Odsonne Edouard was one of the best up-and-coming strikers in European football back at Celtic, but his move to Crystal Palace has amounted to a giant flop, leading to a rumored exit this summer.
It looks like Edouard isn’t moving out of Palace permanently just yet, and there is hope that at Leicester City, Edouard can parlay strong performances into a permanent deal and turn his career around.
The Foxes hope that will be with them, as they are looking for a striker to produce the goods as a scorer and creator in his prime, which Edouard is capable of. He had interest in Celtic from a reunion, but he’ll get one last shot to prove his worth in the Premier League.
Grade: B
AM Facundo Buonanotte Loan
Leicester City were never going to get the option to buy Facundo Buonanotte, but even with this fact in mind, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder and winger from Brighton is so talented that a loan move for him just might be the Foxes’ best transfer of the summer – at least after Okoli.
Buonanotte is one of the best young players in the Premier League. He is technical, explosive, and has the upside to put it all together as a legitimate weekly contributor in the Premier League.
Leicester City aren’t going to mess around with Buonanotte either. He may be a loanee, but he’s already a clear starter, as Leicester City have their best chances of winning when his dynamism is on display in the starting lineup.
Grade: A
