It may seem an eternity away right now but Leicester City will already be putting plans in place for the 2020/2021 campaign.
Regardless of when next season kicks off, it seems certain that the Foxes will have Champions League football to contend with for just the second time in the club's history.
Brendan Rodgers' side's success has surprised some, but in truth it was always on the cards. Leicester's emergence as one of the Premier League's elite sides is a result of careful planning and a near flawless recruitment strategy.
However, they must be wary. The summer transfer window following their last successful season in 2015/2016 was an unmitigated disaster, with huge fees being dropped on flops such as Ahmed Musa and Islam Slimani.
Mistakes such as this must be avoided to keep the club's positive momentum going. With that in mind 90min has laid out what an ideal squad would look like for Leicester going into next season.
Transfers In
Leicester's team is pretty good - they wouldn't be third if it wasn't - but it's not perfect. An over reliance on Jamie Vardy's goals persists and they lack depth in several positions.
What they also need is someone inspirational, someone creative and someone who fancies a move away from their current club. Maybe someone who played the best football of his career under Brendan Rodgers previously. We wonder if there's anyone who fits the bill...
Merih Demiral - The 22-year-old has barely played at Juventus this season and would provide competition for Leicester's current, fearsome centre-back pairing. The Foxes had two bids rejected for the Turkey international in January but they should eventually get their man.
Philippe
Adam Lallana - Lallana on a free? Oh, go on then. What have Leicester got to lose? Free
William Carvalho - Wilfred Ndidi's injury exposed the Foxes' lack of depth in defensive midfield. Carvalho would rectify this... and more importantly, he's got a great moustache. £22m
Potential Spend: £156m
If the Coutinho deal proves impossible, Leicester should seriously consider Norwich's Emiliano Buendia. He would slot in nicely to the club's playing style.
The Foxes also need to find a long term successor to Jamie Vardy at some point... but this can probably be delayed for another season as the Englishman shows no signs of slowing down just yet.
Transfers Out
Leicester have sold one first team player a year since their title win in 2016, mostly for very impressive fees - except N'Golo Kante obviously. Ben Chilwell, James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu have all attracted interest this season and one of them has to go to fund the pursuit of Philippe Coutinho...
Ben Chilwell - The most replaceable of the three names above. If Chelsea are willing to splash the cash on this defensively suspect left-back, the Foxes should bite their hands off. Not literally of course. That would be horrible. £80m
Demarai Gray - Promising so much and delivering so little season after season, the jig is finally up for Gray. Can imagine Bournemouth dropping a huge fee on him if they manage to stay up. Eddie Howe does love a rubbish signing. £20m
Wes Morgan - It's been an absolute pleasure Wesley but it's time to move on. Go and play some games while your body still allows... just make sure Leicester give
Andy King - Another legend whose tenure has come to an end. Can't wait for his testimonial. Free
Adrien Silva - Never got going at the club after the registration deadline debacle. A return to Sporting seems likely. £5m
Rachid Ghezzal - By far Claude Puel's most pointless signing. He's not so awful that selling him is a massive priority, but he surely has no future at the club. £10m
Islam Slimani - Incredibly, this guy is still a Leicester player. He's been doing pretty well for Monaco recently. Surely they'll take him off the wage bill? £10m
Nampalys Mendy - Has been reliable enough when called upon, but seems unlikely to be given a new deal by Rodgers. Free.
Potential Sales: £125m
Leicester keeping hold of all of their top stars seems likely as 90min learned earlier this week that the club are confident of tying down Maddison, Soyuncu, Chilwell and Youri Tielemans to long-term deals soon.
However, £80m for Chilwell is too good of an offer to refuse - particularly if it can help the club fund a move for Coutinho.
Full First-Team Squad for 2020/21 in a Dream Scenario (inc. Squad Numbers)
| 1. | Kasper Schmeichel |
| 2. | James Justin |
| 3. | Jamal Lewis (new signing) |
| 4. | Çağlar Söyüncü |
| 5. | Merih Demiral (new signing) |
| 6. | Jonny Evans |
| 7. | Philippe Coutinho (new signing) |
| 8. | Youri Tielemans |
| 9. | Jamie Vardy |
| 10. | James Maddison |
| 11. | Marc Albrighton |
| 12. | Danny Ward |
| 14. | Kelechi Iheanacho |
| 15. | Harvey Barnes |
| 16. | Filip Benkovic |
| 17. | Ayoze Perez |
| 18. | Daniel Amartey |
| 19. | Adam Lallana (new signing) |
| 20. | Hamza Choudhury |
| 21. | Ricardo Pereira |
| 22. | Matty James |
| 24. | William Carvalho (new signing) |
| 25. | Wilfred Ndidi |
| 27. | Fousseni Diabate |
| 28. | Christian Fuchs |
| 35. | Eldin Jakupovic |
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Source : 90min