Questions answered on the lack of forward arrival in January, James’ lack of impact as a number 10, home form, the points required for survival, and team changes against Preston
Jordan Blackwell
18:47, 23 Mar 2026Updated 18:55, 23 Mar 2026
Jordan James during Leicester City’s goalless draw with Watford(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Leicester City are still in the relegation zone and time is ticking down.
They now have a chance for a breather with the final international break of the season before a potentially dramatic run-in kicks off in April.
Here, we’ve answered some of the big questions on City fans’ lips ahead of those final games.
Q: Why didn’t Leicester City sign a striker in the January window?
It felt like an obvious transfer to do, with none of City’s forwards performing especially well in front of goal and with the club cutting ties with Julian Carranza, leaving them with one striker fewer.
The only thing that comes to mind is that they had suffered a series of injuries at the time, and perhaps felt like filling those gaps was more important, with the likes of Jamaal Lascelles coming in after Jannik Vestergaard had to have a hernia operation, with Divine Mukasa brought in with Aaron Ramsey out, and Joe Aribo in place of Jordan James.
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With two fit senior strikers available, perhaps it didn’t feel like a priority anymore, especially as City’s goalscoring is not actually too bad – they rank 12th in the division for goals – even if those strikes weren’t coming from their forwards.
But even then, the Dujuan Richards signing only made sense when he was thought of as a striker. As soon as Andy King said he’d been signed as a right-sided winger, it didn’t really feel like a worthwhile move, especially as someone with no senior experience in English football.
But yes, it feels like an oversight at this stage. Let’s hope it’s not a costly one.
Q: Why is Jordan James less effective as a number 10?
It would be assumed that getting a promising attacking player further up the pitch would naturally make them more effective but that hasn’t been the case with James this season and there was more evidence of that at the weekend. Although, it wasn’t necessarily the wrong decision from Gary Rowett.
Bringing Harry Winks back into the deeper midfield positions alongside Oli Skipp felt like a necessary move after the QPR defeat, while Patson Daka was required following Jordan Ayew’s ineffective showing.
But when Daka plays, there needs to be a number 10 really, rather than two number eights, because the Zambian is not as good at dropping deep. So if James was going to play, it would need to be as a number 10.
The two problems he has in the role seem to be that he’s better when looking forward, whereas as a number 10, a player can spend quite a lot of time with their back to goal, because they’re looking to move into the pockets to receive possession.
And one of his big attributes is energy. There’s less need to show that as a 10, one because you’re not getting forward and back as much, but also because you are waiting to receive the ball to feet, and so there’s fewer chances to make those deep runs beyond the forward line.
Q: Will any changes be made after the international break?
Probably not, as long as every player is back fit. Rowett has made a few nods to it being a Friday fixture and with some players not back at Seagrave until Thursday, and so with only 24 hours until kick-off against Preston.
On that basis, James and Daka might be the concerns. If Wales get through to the World Cup play-off final against Italy or Northern Ireland on Tuesday, March 31, there may be questions over whether that’s too quick of a turnaround.
Daka and Zambia play Argentina in a friendly on the same day, but with an even later kick-off, given the time difference to Buenos Aires.
That’s the only reason for a team change, given how solid the team looked against Watford.
Jannik Vestergaard may be back fit, but it would be a surprise if he was to replace either Caleb Okoli or Jamaal Lascelles in the back-line as they both played their part in what was perhaps City’s best defensive performance of the season against Watford.
Jannik Vestergaard pictured in Leicester City training in December(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Q: How many points are needed to stay up?
Fifty points is the so-called magic number but twice in the past 10 years that’s not been enough.
The tally required tends to fluctuate much more in the Championship than it does in the Premier League, with the team in 22nd finishing on anything between 51 points and 37 points over the past decade.
Currently, City are in 22nd with 39 points from 39 games, suggesting that, over 46 games, 22nd spot will end up with 46 points.
First of all, City’s points deduction perhaps confuses that, but also, the rate at which the teams in the relegation battle pick up points over the final seven games does increase ever so slightly on average.
So perhaps 48 will be required. But then again, two years ago, 22nd had 39 points with seven games to go, and Gary Rowett’s Birmingham went down with 50 points that year.
To truly be safe, City probably need to win four of their final seven and ensure they get to 51 points.
Q: Why have City been worse at home than away?
While it may feel like that, they have actually won more points at home than away, 25 compared to 20, and having played one fewer game.
They’ve lost the same amount home and away though, in part thanks to the run of four draws on the road under Rowett.
The manager’s point about a drop in energy for the third game of a three-game week, as shown in the Norwich and QPR fixtures, seems to be significant in explaining why the home games haven’t been as good under the new boss.
It could also be argued that City’s struggles on home turf are sometimes due to the way teams attack and defend.
There are sides who come to the King Power Stadium, see the quality of individuals in the squad and the way they like to play, and sit back to defend their box, while playing on the transition and exploiting City’s weaknesses.
When City play away, the teams they face are less likely to play counter-attacking football, and perhaps that is to City’s benefit.
There is a debate over whether the atmosphere, often negative, has an impact and it is possible it affects their mentality.
Maybe City players are subconsciously concerned by potential boos should they make a mistake at home, and so perhaps don’t try to be as adventurous on the ball. Worrying about mistakes feels like it’s more likely to lead to them too.
But the atmosphere in general won’t have been an issue of late. The noise levels and support for the team at the King Power Stadium has been very good recently, considering the circumstances.
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