Cooper must now sell Leicester man who earns 2x more than Dewsbury-Hall
Cooper must now sell Leicester man who earns 2x more than Dewsbury-Hall
Leicester City will be fairly confident that they can adjust back to the Premier League well after the crushing blow of relegation greeted them at the end of the 2022/23 top-flight season.
Steve Cooper does have his work cut to prove to Foxes fans that he is the right man to lead them back up to the top league, having only mustered up 11 wins from 54 Premier League games as a manager to date.
Yet, he could become an instantly more likeable figure in his new surroundings by sealing some exciting signings and clearing out the deadwood.
That even includes a Foxes star who was brought to the Midlands for an eye-watering £15m sum.
Souttar's time at Leicester
The overpriced player in question is former Stoke City centre-back Harry Souttar, who left behind the Potters in 2023 for Leicester, hoping he could become a Premier League calibre star at the back.
This move just hasn't worked out whatsoever for the towering Australia international though, who has ended up amassing just 16 games in total over two full campaigns now, with ex-Foxes boss Enzo Maresca handing him just three league appearances on the way to Leicester's promotion triumph, before heading off to Chelsea.
It's been a sharp decline for a defender who had shone up and down the EFL before this big step-up to the top flight proved too much, with his reputation taking even more of a bruising in the East Midlands by Maresca freezing him out of his starting lineups.
Cooper will look to offload the Foxes dud as a result, but this could prove to be a challenge, owing to the newly promoted side no doubt wanting to recoup some of the wild £15m they splashed out on Souttar just a year ago.
There has been interest from the likes of Rangers up in Scotland previously, who must be paying close attention to his performances for Australia over his lack of club minutes, and Leicester will snap any suitor's hand off for wanting to sign their on-the-fringes defender, who is also on a hefty wage, according to Capology.
Souttar's wage at Leicester
Souttar is currently on a handsome £40k-per-week pay packet at the King Power, despite only being gifted one league start over the entire Championship season that just finished.
That means he was earning double Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's wages last season, which will flabbergast those with connections to the recent second-tier title winners, considering Dewsbury-Hall's fantastic campaign really helped the Foxes take the division by storm.
The 25-year-old attack-minded midfielder will arguably feel the most aggrieved from the above list, with the homegrown Foxes gem accumulating 27 goals and assists from 49 total games last season, which could see him become a target for many a Premier League suitor again soon.
Despite Liverpool once being touted as his next destination and Brighton also now eyeing up a move for the midfielder, Souttar is remarkably earning double his pay packet. Cooper clearly now needs to sort out the wage bill, which could lead to the forgotten centre-back being moved on shortly.
With the likes of Dennis Praet and Kelechi Iheanacho already being released, who earned £75k-per-week and £80k-per-week respectively, Souttar could be the next to follow out of the door.
But, Leicester will be hopeful at least they can get some money back for their dud, to at least get somewhat of a happy ending out of such an uninspiring buy.
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