Leicester City must be in transfer limbo with re-emerging 29-year-old: View | OneFootball

Leicester City are on course to be one of the best teams the Championship has ever seen.

The Foxes are currently top of the Championship table, being nine points clear after 33 games.

Leicester have had a great season under Enzo Maresca, who joined in the summer from the coaching staff at Manchester City.

One major reason why they have done so well is because of their midfield, with the likes of Harry Winks and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall starring.

But one midfielder who has made his way into the team recently is that of Dennis Praet.

Praet’s had a tough career at Leicester

Praet is a Belgian central midfielder, who started his career in his homeland with Anderlecht.

He would go on to make over 180 appearances for the club, before leaving for Italy to join Sampdoria in 2016.

Sampdoria was where he caught the eye, helping them reach three consecutive top half finishes in Serie A.

He then left for England, joining current club Leicester in 2019 for a reported fee of £18.4 million, who were then in the Premier League.

Since his move to Leicestershire, he has never been a consistent player amongst the team. He started just 22 out of the 42 league games in his first two seasons, being seen in more of a rotation role.

That led to a season away from the club to get more regular game time, heading back to Italy with Torino in the 21/22 campaign. He would start 17 of Torino’s 38 Serie A games, getting about the same game time as he was in England.

Leicester were relegated in the 22/23 season, and Praet was limited to just six starts. It looked almost a certainty he would be departing in the summer.

He stuck around, but spent the majority of the first half of the season on the sidelines with a back injury. Recently, he has come into the side, having started five of the Foxes’ last six games across all competitions.

With Praet’s recent emergence into the first team as a regular, the higher-ups at the club may have a dilemma to deal with.

Praet’s contract is set to expire in the summer, so as it stands they will be losing him at the end of the season on a free.

Former club Torino were also said to be interested in January in taking Praet back to Italy, so it is probable that the 29-year-old will have plenty of interest in the summer.

Praet signed his deal when Leicester were in the Premier League, so he is likely one of the club’s highest earners. Will Leicester offer him a new deal, or will they feel they can do better financially? They may feel they can sign a younger player for smaller wages, which could be a bigger benefit to the club in the long run.

Even then, would Praet stay without a guarantee of regular starts? His career has arguably faltered whilst being in England and the Premier League, where Leicester plan to be next year, and he may even feel a move back to Europe could be better for him.