WE’RE HUNTED FOXES Today’s
Champions Leicester are now a prize scalp, warns King
THERE have been many ways to measure the scale of Leicester City’s success last season but the numbers from this summer’s player trading present a clear calculation.
The Premier League champions have twice broken their transfer record as they look to maintain momentum, signing Nampalys Mendy for £13million, then Ahmed Musa for £18m. Meanwhile, Jamie Vardy and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel penned new contracts for roughly £100,000 per week, far in excess of the £40,000 club ceiling imposed just 12 months ago.
Such figures would barely register a tremor at today’s opponents.
Manchester United, the FA Cup winners, have signed two players for £30m, put a global star on more than £220,000 per week and are ready to announce the return of Paul Pogba for a world record £100m.
Jose Mourinho may be stocking up for a title bid at the first attempt but Leicester are not about to step aside willingly. ‘We know we upset the apple cart last season with what we did,’ reflected midfielder Andy King. ‘We expected a reaction from the top teams. We got that from not only United but Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal as well.
‘It is nothing which we weren’t expecting but we are confident in our own ability, in our squad and the team that we have, that with hard work I am sure we can cause a few upsets again. We’ll be a scalp now this season, teams will want to beat us because we’re champions.
‘But nobody said we would be in this position last year so it goes to show with football, you never know. We will be looking to finish as high as possible and go as far in the cup competitions as possible.’
Leicester are the team who earned their place at Wembley by winning the league, finishing 15 points ahead of fifth-placed United, but King’s answer to the prospect of victory today illustrates their contrasting perspectives. United have lifted the FA Charity or Community Shield a record 20 times.
Leicester have won it once, beating Liverpool 1-0 in 1971, when invited as second division champions because Double winners Arsenal were away on tour at the same time. King said: ‘We are not one of those teams who can be picky and choosy about what we want to win!
‘We will approach it at full tilt — 100 per cent — and see where that takes us. It is a game we want to win.
‘We know it will be another tough game, with the spending United have done in the summer and the new manager, they are going to want to get off to a good start.
‘But I think we are heading in the right direction.’
King was referring to a display against Barcelona in Stockholm on Wednesday that ended in a 4-2 defeat.
An earlier 4-0 loss to Paris SaintGermain frustrated manager Claudio Ranieri, who had seen his side fold, but there were improvements against Luis Enrique’s team, who looked seriously susceptible to Leicester’s direct approach at times.
King added: ‘We weren’t happy with how we played as a team against PSG, but against Barcelona, particularly in the second half, it was much more of the Leicester City we know and, hopefully, we can take that forward into the season.’