While Leicester City will want to forget their miserable 25/26 campaign, it has been one to remember for one player currently on loan away from the club.
We spoke to Tom Atkins of SpireitesWrite and Ed Bridges of the 1912 Exiles Newport County podcast to get the lowdown on a player who is adored by both sets of supporters
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Sammy Braybrooke was named in the League Two team of the season at the EFL awards, having starred for both Newport County and Chesterfield. His excellent performances mean he is well-placed to play a key role at the King Power Stadium next season.
His efforts have been noticed by onlookers, including former England international Kieron Dyer, who is now a coach at Chesterfield.
“I am fortunate to have played at the highest level, and this kid is destined for the top.
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“For me, he’s the best midfielder in the league by a country mile,” the 33-cap former England man said.
It is not just the coaching staff at Chesterfield who are full of praise for Braybrooke; he has made a huge impression on supporters at both of his loan clubs this campaign.
“If you said to me Braybrooke would go on to have a career in the top flight, I wouldn’t rule it out at all,” Ed Bridges of the 1912 Exiles Newport County podcast said to LeicestershireLive .
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“Quite simply, he’s the best player in League Two, and I have no idea how he’s playing at this level,” Tom Atkins of SpireitesWrite told LeicestershireLive .
He has earned a reputation in League Two as a true midfield all-rounder. Newport fans coined the nickname, ‘The Leicester Iniesta’ for the man who has been with the Foxes since he was eight years old.
“The thing I most admired about him right at the start was even as a youngster on loan, he wanted the ball and would show for the ball,” Ed said of Braybrooke’s performances at Rodney Parade.
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Leicester have lacked a player like that throughout the season, with players hiding from the ball and a lack of accountability rampant in the Foxes’ ranks.
When he does show up for the ball, he will more than likely make something happen.
“He can pick out a pass well before anyone else has seen it and dictate the tempo of games,” Chesterfield fan Tom suggested.
It is a testament to Braybrooke’s ability that when Leicester recalled him, Newport needed to replace him with two players. They brought in Harrison Biggins to compensate for Braybrooke’s passing and invention, and Sven Sprangler to replace his industry.
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Braybrooke’s stats in League Two reinforce the fact that he is an all-rounder. He has made more successful passes than any other midfielder in League Two, as well as having made the most recoveries.
While the attitude of many of Leicester’s players has been called into question this season, supporters who have watched Braybrooke every week do not believe he will suffer from this issue.
“There’s no questioning his attitude. It’s spot on, and he’s a model professional in the way he has conducted himself.
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“The heart he brings to his performances is something that Leicester have been missing,” Ed said.
While relegation is a devastating blow for the club, it will provide opportunities for academy graduates like Braybrooke.
“Leicester’s relegation has probably come at a good time for him, because he is certainly capable of dictating the midfield in a League One team,” Tom said.
While Chesterfield aim to secure a play-off spot, Newport are battling relegation under former Leicester favourite Christian Fuchs.
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Braybrooke and Fuchs only worked together for around a month, but the Austrian is still in charge of Nathan Opoku, who remains on loan at Rodney Parade from City.
“Without Braybrooke, we’d be six or nine points worse off and relegated by now.
“Survival is not yet confirmed, but if it is, Sammy Braybrooke will be able to say, ‘I played my part,” Ed told LeicestershireLive.
This is not Braybrooke’s first season on loan away from the King Power Stadium, but it is this season that he has broken through and shown his immense quality.
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He made eight appearances for Dundee in the 24/25 Scottish Premiership, having recovered from a devastating ACL injury.
Braybrooke missed over 12 months of football because of the injury, at a time when he was captain of England’s U19S and a regular on Leicester’s bench in the Europa League.
Without the injury, he might already be a regular at the King Power Stadium. The England U19 squad he captained before the setback included players such as Adam Wharton, Lewis Hall, Rico Lewis and Foxes’ teammate Ben Nelson.
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Had the decision makers at the King Power Stadium been more considerate of the threat of relegation to League One in January, Braybrooke may have been tested in the third tier.
Instead, he has flourished for two separate clubs in League Two and will hope to make the transition up a level with his boyhood club a seamless one.