Five Players Leicester City Can Realistically Sign This Transfer Window

Despite falling short of the top four in this season's Premier League, Leicester have still had a very positive first full season under Brendan Rodgers, finishing a respectful fifth and earning Europa League football.

One of the positives about this current Leicester side is that they have a very good mix of young and experienced players. Jamie Vardy, now at the age of 33, won the Golden Boot thanks to his 23 league goals in this campaign and he is likely to stick around for another season at the King Power Stadium.

Heading into the transfer window, the pressure will be on Brendan Rodgers to get the recruitment right as he will try and build a side that is capable of competing for a top four finish next season. One big problem facing the Northern Irish manager is that some of his best players like Ben Chilwell are nearing an exit, meaning Rodgers will need reinforcements before the start of the new season.

We look at what the reports are saying and see who Leicester could realistically sign this window.

A young goalkeeper that has been a regular in Benfica's first team since his arrival at the Estadio Da Luz in 2018 from Panathinaikos.

Of course, Kasper Schmeichel has a few years left before he reaches a typical retiring age for a goalkeeper. The Danish international has been a regular at Leicester since 2011 but, as he is now at the age of 33, Rodgers is going to have to start planning for life after Schmeichel and the current backup goalkeepers Eldin Jakupovic and Danny Ward have hardly demonstrated Premier League quality in their careers.

It would be useful for the Foxes if they manage to secure the services of a proven goalkeeper like Vlachodimos sooner rather than later and to aid his development, it may be a good idea to loan him back out to Benfica so the Greek international can be ready for a club like Leicester when Schmeichel is ready to pass on the baton.

Merih Demiral may have been warming the bench more than anything at Juventus this season but this young defender has shown glimpses of his potential of late, with the club reportedly looking to cash in.

The 22-year-old defender already has 12 senior appearances to his name for Turkey and made his mark on his national side last year forcing rumours to surface that Leicester could make a move for the former Sassuolo player.

The central defensive partnership between Caglar Soyuncu and Johnny Evans has been very successful this season. However, if the Foxes are to build on this successful campaign and compete within the Europa League, squad depth will be key, as such fixtures fall on a Thursday night.

Rogers and all his experience will know more than anyone else on the importance of squad depth and this one might just be the perfect start to building such a relentless side across the board.

Rumour has it that Ben Chilwell is on the verge of a move to Chelsea and it seems the Leicester youth academy has played his final game for the club.

The left-back position has been a strong position for some years now. Christian Fuchs did an excellent job in that position during the Foxes' title-winning season in 2015/16 and Chilwell has been a fantastic replacement. If he leaves this summer, the pressure will be on to find a replacement that can be just as good as the England international.

Theo Hernandez, brother of Bayern Munich's Lucas Hernandez, could be a suitable replacement for Chilwell. The Frenchman would be a signing for the long term. The young defender has had experience playing for Real Madrid and has had a decent season at the back for AC Milan, and was a key part in Serie A's joint fourth-best defence in this campaign.

It will be a costly transfer, but given how Leicester are demanding so much for Chilwell, they may have the budget to bring in such a star player.

With the future of James Maddison looking uncertain, Brendan Rodgers could find himself searching for a replacement for the attack-minded midfielder.

Amine Harit has been a bright spark in a season that ended in disappointment for David Wagner's Schalke side. The midfielder scored four goals in September which earned him the Bundesliga Player of the Month award and he was a key part of the Royal Blues' second-place finish in the 2017/18 season.

Considering the lack of European football at the Veltins Arena next campaign and also the club's financial difficulties, Wagner may be forced to sell the Moroccan international this summer and Harit can be a good fit at the King Power Stadium. A price tag of around £30m might attract some tough competition for his signature.

Another player that took the Bundesliga by storm this season is Marcus Thuram. The son of France World Cup winner, Lilian Thuram, formed a prolific goalscoring partnership with Alassane Plea to help Borussia Monchengladbach qualify for the Champions League for the first time in four years and thus become a wanted man in Europe.

Rumours suggest that Leicester's backup striker Kelechi Iheanacho could be on his way out in a search for regular first team football. If this comes to fruition, this could be an opportunity for Leicester to snatch one of the up and coming talents in Germany.

If the 22-year-old comes in to replace Iheanacho in the summer, Thuram could use his first season at the King Power Stadium to find his feet in the Premier League so that he can be ready to take over from Vardy within a year or two.

By Rob Spereall