LEICESTER ARE WALKING INTO A MESS! WHY FOXES' PREMIER LEAGUE PROMOTION FEELS HOLLOW AS CLUB PREPARE FOR MORE FINANCIAL TURMOIL

King Enzo!

Leicester's current problems couldn't have seemed further away in the first half of the season. Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola's former assistant Enzo Maresca, the good times returned to the King Power Stadium before Christmas.

The Foxes won 13 of their first 14 Championship games and had already racked up a remarkable 58 points by the halfway point of the season. An immediate return to the top-flight seemed certain and the team was likable once again.

The goalkeeping issues that plagued Leicester the previous year disappeared, with Mads Hermansen starring between the sticks. Jannik Vestergaard and Hamza Choudhury, both pariahs in the 2022-23 campaign, were back to their best too, while their strength in depth up front was scary - with new arrivals Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu looking electric.

In Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Leicester also possessed arguably the division's best footballer, and Ricardo Pereira was dominating in an inverted full-back position. Everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly.

Gigantic wobble

But things eventually began to unravel. The genesis of their downfall was a demoralising defeat to second-placed Leeds in February. Heading into the game, the Whites were nine points adrift of the runaway leaders, but that gap was cut by a third following an eventful evening at Elland Road.

Leicester created more than enough to win the game, and had a perfectly-good goal to make it 2-0 wrongly ruled out for offside, but a remarkable Leeds rally condemned them to a 3-1 defeat. Before that contest, Marseca had said: "[It's] a huge game for Leeds. For us? It's just another game," a comment some pilloried as arrogance.

And Maresca's words would continually be used as a stick to beat Leicester with as their title charge collapsed in quite spectacular fashion in the weeks that followed. The Leeds result kickstarted a run of just three wins in 10 Championship games, with a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City eventually resulting in them relinquishing top spot.

Leicester fans have seen collapses like this before, with their side foregoing significant leads in the race for Champions League qualification during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, but at least they were underdogs in those tales. This time around, they were the Championship's big dogs, possessing a wage budget big enough to make rival owners' jaws drop.

Premier League charges

This on-field collapse was made more painful by the concerning financial saga playing out in the background. After several months of rumblings, it was eventually announced that Leicester had been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League for an alleged breach of the competition's profit and sustainability rules.

"The alleged breach relates to the assessment period ending Season 2022-23, when the club was a member of the Premier League," a statement read. "Leicester City were relegated to the EFL Championship prior to the introduction of the Premier League’s new Standard Directions, which prescribe a timeline within which PSR cases should be heard. Therefore, the proceedings will be conducted in accordance with a timetable to be set by the independent commission, and its final decision will be published on the Premier League’s website."

The outlook for Leicester was only made gloomier when they released their accounts for 2022-23 at the beginning of April. These reported that the club had made a £89.7 million ($113m) loss for the period. Chillingly, it was the the fifth-consecutive year Leicester had ended up in the red.

Only themselves to blame

Leicester's account were accompanied by an ominous message from chief executive Susan Whelan, who blamed several factors, including the sacking of Brendan Rodgers and the club's lack of UEFA competition money, for the concerning figures.

“Having achieved finishing positions in the Premier League of fifth, fifth and eighth in the three preceding seasons, our targets and associated budgets for 2022-23 were entirely reasonable,” she said. “However, for a club such as ours, whose sustained sporting achievements have justified the levels of investment required to compete with the most established clubs and pursue our ambition, a season of such significant under-performance on the pitch presents financial challenges, particularly from the perspective of the game’s current profit and sustainability rules.”

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the accounts, however, was the jaw-dropping sums Leicester were spending on wages. As calculated by The Athletic, the Foxes wage-to-turnover ratio was a brain-melting 116 percent. In other words, for every £1 that came in, £1.16 was going out paying a squad that floundered to an 18th-placed finish.

For that, Leicester have no one else to blame but themselves. Despite their attempts to pin their shortfall on relegation, even a cursory look at the actual expenditure breakdown reveals how feeble an excuse this is.

Over an extended period, it's clear the club overreached massively, handing out bumper contracts and shelling out exorbitant transfer fees, with their various European runs and exceptional record selling players for profit papering over the cracks.

Points deduction incoming

There's no denying that Leicester's finances are in perilous state, but what tangible effects could this have on their immediate future? There were murmurings that their apparent transgressions might result in a points deduction this season, with the Foxes swiftly launching legal proceedings against the EFL and Premier League to prevent this being the case.

Last month, such measures were ruled out. The EFL released a statement that read: "Having taken legal advice, the EFL has confirmed to all parties that whilst it would want to respect any decision of a Premier League disciplinary commission (and vice versa) to deduct points in the EFL, it does not have the power under the regulations as currently drafted."

This is far from the end of Leicester's troubles, though. Their case is currently still being investigated, but following the precedent set by Everton and Nottingham Forest, it would be remarkable if Leicester were not slapped with a points deduction following their promotion.

It's likely to be more than the four points Forest were docked too, due to the Foxes submitting their accounts late. There will likely be issues in the transfer market as well, as Leicester are currently under a registration embargo, which could prevent them renewing the contracts of Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi, Jamie Vardy, Dennis Praet, Vestergaard and Marc Albrighton - all of whom's deals expire in the summer.

Crazy summer beckons

With all of that in mind, Leicester head into the Premier League with their tails between their legs, nervously awaiting what looks set to be a bruising summer. It's not just the looming points deduction they've got to worry about, either; there's also the very real possibility that they're forced into selling some of their prized assets to keep the wolves from the door.

Dewsbury-Hall, previously a target of Liverpool, would have no shortage of suitors, and his sale would go down as pure profit on the balance sheet as he's homegrown. The aforementioned sextet whose deals are running out could be out of the door too, while it remains to be seen whether Leicester will be able to pay Sporting CP the €17m (£14.6m/$18m) required to sign Fatawu permanently.

It's not just on the field that things appear shaky. Quite rightly, the fanbase are frustrated to have witnessed the club fly so close to the sun financially. This has resulted in a significant increase in supporters joining the Foxes Trust, who penned their most critical statement yet following the release of the most-recent accounts.

"The fans of Leicester City FC are not just customers or consumers. Currently, many feel let down and not listened to. There is also frustration that no-one at the club appears to be acknowledging any mistakes, on or off the pitch, no one is being held accountable and there is no communication from the club about any reflections on the events of the past 18-months or so. Fans understand that the current legal situation may currently constrain such communications, but that does not explain the near silence over many months," a portion of it read.

The fans' anxiety is only likely to spike over the coming weeks too, as they prepare for a summer of legal action, transfer rumours and endless uncertainty. It's hardly the dream promotion they envisaged following that spectacular first few months of the season.