After winning the Championship and gaining promotion to the Premier League, Leicester City confront a very difficult summer. In addition to promotion-winning manager Enzo Maresca leaving, Leicester City faces the prospect of a record-breaking points deduction.
Despite making a victorious comeback to the Premier League, Leicester face significant challenges. The club’s success on the pitch has not shielded them from criticism over alleged financial mismanagement.
The Foxes were hit with charges in March for violating the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules over three years concluding in 2023. For the fiscal year 2022-23, the club lost $115 million, according to its financial report.
Promotion achieved, troubles loom
Leicester suffered heavy losses in recent years, which has put a strain on its finances. The club’s financial situation is still unstable, even though it made a profit of $95 million from player sales. This included the high-profile deals of Wesley Fofana to Chelsea and James Maddison to Tottenham.
According to The Telegraph, Leicester can now get a point reduction of six to fifteen. This punishment has the potential to go above the Premier League record of nine points docked to Portsmouth in 2009 for going into administration. With this possible penalty in place, their prospects of retaining their Premier League membership for the next season would be severely diminished.
In a legal battle, the Premier League and the Football League accused them of “unlawfully conspiring” over the accusations. Thus, they barely escaped a points punishment last season. Through this shrewd legal technique, they were able to get an injunction that effectively ended the campaign without any penalties. All of this contributed to their promotion.
Furthermore, they will likely have to sell several players before the conclusion of the 2023-24 fiscal year on June 30 to meet financial standards and avoid further fines.
Uncertain future with cloud of Leicester City points deduction
Leicester lost Enzo Maresca, their manager and a key figure in their promotion, which is another major setback. As per Fabrizio Romano, the Italian will put pen to paper with Chelsea until June 2029, with the possibility of an additional season of extension. By week’s end, the deal will be finalized.
According to reports, the Foxes’ Premier League opponents would pay them a compensation of $10-12 million. For a manager and his coaching staff, that’s a substantial salary increase. It would help alleviate Leicester’s PSR worries—though only a little. Now that the hunt for a new manager has begun, the Foxes may have a tough time ensuring that they remain at the top level come next season.
With Maresca out of the picture, Leicester must now find a new manager just when they didn’t need more problems. Graham Potter managed Brighton and Chelsea, and he could make a Premier League return with Leicester. Carlos Corberan, who oversees West Brom, is another name floating around for the King Power vacancy.
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