A look at how falling into the third tier would impact the Leicester City squad, with free transfers and plenty of sales likely to leave City with a stripped-back group
Jordan Blackwell
16:27, 13 Apr 2026
Jake Evans, currently on loan at League One side Northampton, would likely be a key player for Leicester City if they are relegated(Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Leicester City’s squad would likely be stripped to its bare bones in the event of relegation to League One.
City are now four points adrift of safety with four games to go in the Championship and hope is running low that they can produce the turnaround needed to secure survival.
A second successive relegation would require significant adjustments to cope with another drop in revenue, and so City would not only say goodbye to every squad member whose contract is expiring, but likely sell most of the players that have value in the market.
Players may be keen to leave too, not only because they don’t want to play in the third tier, but because their wages will be cut following relegation.
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Even in the event that City stay up, the likes of Ricardo Pereira, Jordan Ayew and Patson Daka are expected to leave on free transfers, while high-value players like Abdul Fatawu and Ben Nelson are likely to be sold.
All of the loanees would be departing too, although there is a possibility City can enact a buy clause for Jordan James should they survive.
In the event City go down, Jamaal Lascelles may not see his contract renewed, while a host of other players would be under consideration for sales.
Having proven themselves at Championship level or higher prior to this season, it would not be a surprise if there was interest in the likes of Harry Winks, Caleb Okoli, Jannik Vestergaard, Stephy Mavididi, Hamza Choudhury, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, and Harry Souttar.
Jeremy Monga’s potential means he’s set to attract significant interest this summer, no matter City’s fate.
It means that should City fall into League One, they may only have a small base from which to build their squad.
Of those to have featured frequently this season, goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk, left-back Luke Thomas – who signed a new contract last autumn – and midfielder Oliver Skipp would be the favourites to remain at the King Power Stadium.
There would also likely be more prominent roles for defender Bade Aluko and midfielder Louis Page, with both showing their potential this season.
Several of the club’s loanees would likely return straight into the fold at City, with deep midfielder Sammy Braybrooke, attacking midfielder Will Alves, and forward Jake Evans certain to be involved, with full-back Jayden Joseph also a contender.
Some of the club’s best youngsters may also be promoted to first-team action. Centre-back Kevon Gray was on the bench earlier this season, while striker Lorenz Hutchinson has fired in plenty of goals for the academy.
It would be hoped that significant sales open the door to bring in new players, but this would likely be City’s starting point.
City’s potential League One starting point: Stolarczyk; Joseph, Aluko, Gray, Thomas; Braybrooke, Skipp; Evans, Page, Alves; Hutchinson.
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