“We tried their best to convince them to remain at the club but they bluntly told me NO”- Leicester City Boss Ruud van Nistelrooy confirmed Leicester City trio have played their final game for the club and will bid farewell to the fans tomorrow against Liverpool
Leicester City trio have played their final game but reprieve awaits remaining outcasts
There are six matches to play in the Premier League and some Leicester City may not feature again this term, but it does not mean that their careers at the club are over.
It’s that point of the season where discussions might be had over which players have kicked a ball for the final time in Leicester City colours.
But those predictions are difficult to make at City. As things stand, there are only three players who it can be said with some certainty to have played their last game for the club.
Goalkeepers Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen aren’t going to play in the final six matches unless Mads Hermansen and Jakub Stolarczyk pick up injuries, and then they’re both out of contract in the summer.
Striker Odsonne Edouard has not made a matchday squad for City since December, and with the focus now on preparing for next season and promoting youth, it doesn’t feel like that will change before his loan deal expires at the end of the campaign.
In ordinary circumstances, it would feel like those who are currently out of the picture are destined for the exit.
Jannik Vestergaard has not been in the City squad for the past five games, including at Brighton when Ruud van Nistelrooy opted to go without a centre-back on the bench.
Having named two central defenders among his substitutes for the majority of the campaign, to go without one at the Amex Stadium and instead pick teenagers Jake Evans and Bade Aluko despite Vestergaard being fit to play, does not bode well for the Dane featuring again this term.
There are similar circumstances for Harry Winks. Despite van Nistelrooy saying that the midfielder’s situation could change, he’s left him out of the squad for three straight matches now, again with youngsters preferred.
At most clubs, that would be it for Vestergaard and Winks. They look so far out of the manager’s plans that a summer exit would be their only option.
But at City it’s not that simple. Van Nistelrooy’s tenure as manager could end before the transfer window even opens. And unless there are assets that need to be sold for revenue, players won’t leave before a new boss has had a look at them.
For Winks and Vestergaard, it may be a case of waiting it out. Vestergaard knows this already, having fallen out with Brendan Rodgers and having not played a league game in the 18 months before Enzo Maresca’s arrival.
Winks may not fancy another season in the Championship, so may look to leave anyway. And he does only have a year remaining on his contract, weakening the barrier to a move away.
But if no clubs come in for him, he could look to stay with City and try for promotion again if there’s a new manager willing to use him.
Elsewhere, there’s a handful of other players who are in contention but for whom it’s not inconceivable that they wouldn’t feature in the final six games, such as Woyo Coulibaly, Oliver Skipp, Jordan Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
But all of these players have been signed in the past 12 months and all of them are more likely to remain at the club this summer than depart. They may not play again this term, but that might be in the 11 next season.
For those who are more likely to be sold, like Mads Hermansen and Wout Faes, minutes are expected over the remainder of the campaign.
Jamie Vardy, the only other player out of contract besides Ward and Iversen, will start every match, fitness permitting. Whether he’s still wearing City’s number nine shirt come next season is up in the air.
So whether they are outcasts, regulars, or even the manager, there’s a lot of uncertainty for the staff at City. The only thing that can be predicted with confidence right now is that the club will be playing in the Championship.