Seven years ago, Tottenham Hotspur’s loss against Chelsea FC made Leicester City’s fairytale a reality, as they clinched their first English top division title. The squad, with a mixture of hard-workers and talented players, surprised the top teams of the Premier League to win an unlikely title. But, where are they now?
GK. Kasper Schmeichel
Son of the Manchester United legend, Peter Schmeichel, Kasper’s 2015/2016 season put him in the spotlight. One of the key players for Leicester success, no one thought he was an outstanding goalkeeper until the miracle run from the ‘Foxes’. After 10 seasons, the Danish left the team for Nice in 2022’s summer.
RB. Danny Simpson
A product of the Manchester United school, where he did not manage to succeed. Simpson tried to make a living, playing in the Belgian Second Division or in Championship teams. After a good year at Queens Park Rangers, he landed at Leicester in 2014. He is currently without a team, after spending the last two seasons at Bristol City.
CB. Robert Huth
A youth player from German side Union Berlin, who landed at Chelsea in 2001. He had plenty of opportunities with the ‘Blues’, but where he established himself in the Premier League was during his years at Stoke. When he began to lose prominence at Stoke, he packed his bags for Leicester and was a key player in their salvation in the 2014/2015 season and subsequent title. Huth retired at the end of the 2017/2018 season without playing a single game.
CB. Wes Morgan
The Jamaican became one of the symbols of Leicester. In his youth, after playing several years outside of professional leagues, he signed with Nottingham Forest, where he played more than 400 matches. However, in January 2012, he went to the arch-rival: Leicester. There he became the team captain, where he became a champion. In addition, Morgan became the first Jamaican to score a goal in the Champions League in 2017. He retired in 2021, and played for Leicester until then.
LB. Christian Fuchs
The most appropriate player for Leicester City: Fuchs, in German, means fox, which is the nickname for the club. In his career, Fuchs wandered through several German teams until he landed in Leicester in 2015. He immediately became a starter but gradually lost his presence in favor of Chilwell. In 2022, he was playing for Charlotte FC in the MLS, where he retired and now has an assistant coaching role.
RM. Riyad Mahrez
Until now we had talked about players who brought more expertise than talent, but that changes with the Algerian. Mahrez was trained in Le Havre, one of the great schools of French football, before landing in 2014 in a Leicester that was still in the Championship. He quickly became one of the standout players of the club… which led Manchester City to pay £60 million in the summer of 2018, where he still remains.
CM. Danny Drinkwater
We can safely say that Drinkwater drank everything but water during the league title celebrations. Another rejected by Manchester United, he made his way through the Championship until he ended up at Leicester. He was one of the dominators of the championship-winning ‘Foxes’ midfield until Chelsea paid £35 million for his services in 2017. However, he played very little there and in subsequent loan spells. Currently, he is without a club.
CM. N’Golo Kanté
He arrived from Caen in 2015 and left with a title under his arm. Kanté was one of the talents discovered by Leicester when nobody knew him and was the first to leave for approximately £30m. Since 2016, he has been at Chelsea, where he was named the Premier League’s best player in 2017.
LM. Marc Albrighton
While he did not attract the spotlight as much as his teammates, he was an important part of the club’s success. Albrighton arrived on a free transfer in 2014 and is still under contract with the club today, although he is currently on loan to West Bromwich Albion.
ST. Shinji Okazaki
The Japanese player was never a prolific goal scorer, and it was no different at Leicester. However, his excellent playmaking skills caught the attention of Leicester, who paid £10m for him in 2015. In 2019, he left the club for Huesca, but he is currently playing in Belgium for Sint Truiden. Okazaki is currently the top scorer for the Japanese national team with 50 goals.
ST. Jamie Vardy
If there is a player who sums up the history of Leicester City and their title, it’s Jamie Vardy. He once played wearing an ankle tag due to a conviction for assault while playing in amateur football… where he remained until the age of 25. Four years later, Vardy was lifting the Premier League trophy with Leicester. Moreover, during the season, he broke Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of consecutive games scoring in the Premier League. A legendary story for a striker who is already a part of English football history. Vardy is still at Leicester City, where he also won the FA Cup in 2021.
Coach. Claudio Ranieri
Hired to save the team in the 2014/2015 season, he ended up winning the league title in the following season. Ranieri, who had never won a league title as a manager, found himself succeeding with the most unlikely team of his career. However, he was fired halfway through the 2016/2017 season. He is currently with Italian club Cagliari.
Players from the bench
Leonardo Ulloa
A ‘super-sub’ for Ranieri, he came from being a player in the Spanish second division and the Championship. However, his six goals from the bench were important for the title. He lost prominence in the team, which led him to go through Brighton, Pachuca, and Rayo Vallecano, where he retired in 2021.
Andy King
The Welsh player was one of the few academy graduates to wear the Foxes shirt that season. He was quite important coming off the bench, although he ended up leaving the club for good in 2020. In 2016, in addition to winning the league, he was one of the protagonists of the Wales national team that reached the semi-finals of the Euro Cup. He is currently at Bristol City, where he was a teammate of Danny Simpson.
Jeffrey Schlupp
Another product of the Foxes academy, the Ghanaian was another one of Ranieri’s super-subs. Quick and powerful, he was a significant threat on the left flank for Leicester’s opponents. In 2017, he left the club for Crystal Palace, where he has since become a regular starter.
Demarai Gray
He arrived in the winter transfer market of the same 2015/2016 season. He played 80 games, mostly as a substitute, until he got fed up with the situation. He left for Bayer Leverkusen… where he found himself in the same problem. Now he plays for Everton, where he enjoys considerably more minutes.
