Leicester City has four senior players out on loan this season, and their fortunes have ranged slightly in the first half of the campaign.
Leicester City’s four senior loanees’ experiences have been mixed so far this season. Following their relegation from the Premier League, the Foxes elected to loan out Boubakary Soumare, Luke Thomas, and Victor Kristiansen throughout the summer. City subsequently let goalkeeper Daniel Iversen to leave in January for nearby Stoke City.
Much like the futures of the players City has borrowed – the likes of Abdul Fatawu and Yunus Akgun could stay at the club after the season ends, though it remains to be seen what Manchester City’s long-term plans are for Callum Doyle and City’s chances of a permanent deal – Leicester must make decisions at the end of the season.
Much will depend on which division City is in, first and foremost, and which players – if any – Enzo Maresca considers relevant to his long-term plans for the first team, or whether those respective individuals do enough to earn permanent moves away from the King Power Stadium. On all four fronts, the situation remains uncertain. Here’s how the loan arrangements are working out.
Midfielder Soumare briefly appeared to be reviving his Leicester career previous to his move, and he has been put through the wringer in a difficult season in Seville. This year, the perennial Europa League winners face a different kind of battle: looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone.
The club has won only four of its 23 matches this season, a form and league positioning that must be giving Soumare nightmares following Leicester’s destiny last year, but he has shown flashes of quality in midfield at times. There has been turmoil to reflect the on-field scenario, and Soumare and Sevilla are now on their third manager of the season.
The first, Jose Luis Mendilibar, stated that Soumare was not following his orders correctly due to the language barrier, which produced complications. The Spaniard was fired in October and replaced by Diego Alonso, who, in comparison, embraced Soumare and made him an essential member of the club, which continued to struggle following his arrival.
He is a muscular footballer who contributes significantly to pressure balances and is also an excellent passer,” Alonso stated. “I need a very intelligent footballer in that position and who knows how to build.” Individually, Sevilla improved, but collectively, they regressed, and Alonso was fired after two months.
Then Quique Sanchez Flores, formerly of Watford, arrived, and things have recently improved. Soumare has continued to play 90 minutes in La Liga since his most recent assignment and will be trying to lead Sevilla away from unforeseen trouble.
Viktor Kristiansen
The left-back only joined Leicester in January, but within six months, Maresca permitted him to move to Italy and join Bologna in Serie A. He was told that if he stayed at the King Power Stadium, he would have to play as a centre half, which he did not particularly enjoy.
The 21-year-old has appeared frequently for Bologna, who are presently sixth in Italy’s top tier and still have a slim chance of defying the big-club cartel and earning a spot in Europe before the end of the season. Kristiansen is being given the opportunity to grow under the tutelage of Thiago Motta, a former Barcelona and PSG midfield player.
Motta admires what he sees in the Dane: “He is a terrific man; I love his attitude when he has the ball, his reaction to errors, and his efforts to recover possession since they are comparable to mine when I was 16 and playing for Barcelona. He is wonderful and presents exactly what I want to see, therefore I am really pleased.”
