Sources: Five more Leicester City stars could follow Maddison and Barnes out
Leicester City fear as many as five crucial first-team stars could follow key men James Maddison and Harvey Barnes out the door if they are relegated, sources have told Football Insider.
Patson Daka, Kelechi Iheanacho, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne are among the most valuable assets at the club and are believed to want to stay in the Premier League.
Sources with knowledge of the situation say the spine of the Leicester side could be picked apart by top-flight clubs if new boss Dean Smith is unable to save the Foxes from the drop.
The Foxes sit 19th in the table and are two points from safety with eight games remaining this term.
Football Insider revealed on Thursday (13 April) that it will take a fee of £50million for interested clubs Newcastle and Tottenham to prise Barnes away from the King Power Stadium in the event of relegation.
The Magpies, Spurs and Liverpool are all also racing to sign Foxes captain Maddison in the off-season – with the Lilywhites believed to be in pole position for his signature.
Youri Tielemans is also expected to leave the club on a free transfer in June after running down his contract.
As per Transfermarkt, Leicester have the ninth-most valuable squad in the Premier League but that hasn’t been translated into performances on the pitch this season.
Football Insider revealed on Wednesday (12 April) that there are major concerns about a potential fire sale at Leicester if they are relegated, after the club announced club-record losses of £93million last month.
Iheanacho, Daka, Pereira and Castagne are all experienced, international players who arrived at the King Power Stadium when the Foxes were involved in European football.
Dewsbury-Hall, like Barnes, is a graduate of the Leicester academy and has been tipped for an England call-up after impressing over the past two seasons.
In other news, update on Graham Potter taking Leicester job this summer.