Leicester City Faces Departures as Squad Adjusts to League One
Leicester City head coach Russell Martin says the club must brace itself for more departures as the reshaped Foxes squad adjusts to life in League One.
Wout Faes and Stephy Mavididi, both involved throughout pre-season, were notable absentees from the matchday squad in Saturday’s season-opening draw at Notts County. Mavididi had even started the EFL Cup win over Northampton a week earlier. At Meadow Lane, neither was involved.
That felt telling.
Faes and Mavididi on the brink
Martin did not dress it up. Leicester are planning for a future that may not include either the Belgian defender or the winger.
"I think we're navigating and managing change in the best way," he told BBC Radio Leicester, underlining the delicate balance between rebuilding and retaining value.
"They've been really respectful, I think we're treating them with respect. Whilst they're here, they train, they're involved. We just feel that for us, we have to be prepared to be without them."
The interest is real. Bids have already come in.
"We've turned down bids for both, but that's ongoing, so we'll see, but I'm not sure any will go soon," Martin said.
So Leicester wait. Faes and Mavididi remain in limbo, still at the club, still training, but increasingly on the periphery as Martin shapes a squad he expects to carry him through a gruelling League One campaign.
"And if they stay, no problem, we'd be really happy with both being here, but with the level of interest that we have," he added, making clear the club’s stance: open to sales, but only on their terms.
Late blow exposes young Foxes’ nerves
On the pitch, Leicester were minutes away from opening the season with a statement win, only to be pegged back by an 81st-minute equaliser at Meadow Lane.
The goal cut deep. Not because Notts County dominated, but because Leicester lost control of themselves.
Martin pinned it on anxiety and tension within a young group still learning how to see games out.
"I think that's the biggest learning for us that if we don't look after each other with the ball like we didn't in the last 20 minutes, the game becomes like that and it doesn't suit us," he said.
The final stages told their own story. Passes went astray. Possession became a burden instead of a platform.
"It's the only frustration and it's because we have a couple of moments that make us anxious and we don't play with anywhere near enough intensity and detail with the ball in our half and it keeps coming back."
The pressure finally told, and with it went two points.
Promise, youth and a missing ingredient
For all the frustration, Martin refused to dwell on the dropped lead. He saw enough in the performance to believe his ideas are taking hold.
He pointed to the debut of forward Admir Bristric, who came off the bench as part of a front line that underlined just how green this Leicester side is.
"I'm really happy with the group we have, genuinely," he said. "They're really young, you saw that at the end. With Admir, the front three was really young."
That youth brings energy, fearlessness, and room to grow. It also brings exactly the kind of late-game jitters that cost Leicester at Notts County.
Martin knows what is missing.
"So we could probably (do with) a couple of guys that have been there and done it to help us manage a game in that way, so we'll see, but there's nothing imminent in the next day or two."
For now, Leicester straddle two worlds: key players attracting bids, a core of youngsters learning on the job, and a head coach trying to fast-track maturity in a division that rarely offers patience.
