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After Monga & Page likely to leave - this Leicester starlet is next
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- After Monga & Page likely to leave - this Leicester starlet is next
Leicester City Training Session | Plumb Images/GettyImages
Ironically enough, Russell Martin initially breathed fresh hope into what has been a largely solid preseason campaign at Leicester City, even though many among the Blue Army were never truly convinced he was the right man for the job in the first place. Even so, the former MK Dons, Swansea City, Southampton and Rangers boss's appointment still reads as something of a high-profile coup for a club now plying its trade in England's third tier, the unfamiliar territory where the Leicestershire outfit currently find themselves.
Financial struggles plaguing The King Power International Group, the LE2 club's long-standing owners, have made retaining their most valuable assets all but impossible, prompting an active search for new ownership while the house burns down gradually. Many would argue the ownership's simultaneous drive to offload as many first-team and emerging talents as possible walks a fine ethical line, yet it remains a strategy they are determined to pursue.
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Listing every available player in the transfer market would naturally leave supporters reeling and, obviously, risks shattering the very foundation and competitive integrity of any squad, no matter how deep its talent pool happens to be. Shocking as it may seem, research suggests such drastic action is not technically against the rules, even if it tests the loyalty of every fan who has stood by the organisation through thick and thin.
This wholesale clear-out has inevitably dragged every member of Leicester's promising youth academy into the shop window, with even the brightest prospects now facing uncertain futures at the King Power. Arguably the most exciting of those young talents, Jeremy Monga , has already been prised away by former Leicester head coach Enzo Maresca and his new employers Manchester City .
Louis Page looks set to follow Monga out of the door, with Premier League heavyweights Arsenal and Manchester United both keeping close tabs on the young defender and potentially even bidding for his services. Page's uncertain status was laid bare at the weekend, when he was left entirely out of the matchday squad for LCFC's League One clash with Notts County at Meadow Lane on Saturday.
Lorenz Hutchinson to depart Leicester City?
While those two capture most of the headlines, Lorenz Hutchinson, the highly-rated Under-18 striker, has emerged as the next target on the radar of elite clubs across Europe. Serie A side Lazio have already, supposedly, tabled a formal offer for his signature .
Other top flight sides are reportedly weighing up their own moves for the prolific young forward too. The 18-year-old turned heads last season with an astonishing record of 15 goals in just 15 appearances in the U18 Premier League.
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Frustration has grown among the Leicester faithful, many of whom had called for Hutchinson to be handed a chance in the senior side this summer, especially given the XI having a distinct lack of established central attackers throughout the offseason. That opportunity never materialised, though, leaving the England U19 international to plausibly consider his options as interest from abroad intensifies.
Hutchinson has been on Leicester's books since U13, progressing steadily through every age group at the academy and earning a reputation as a clever, instinctive finisher with sharp movement and an eye for goal. The youth international is widely viewed as an exceptionally promising young striker, a baller whose development could soon take him far beyond the confines Leicestershire.
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This article was originally published on www.foxesofleicester.com as After Monga & Page likely to leave - this Leicester starlet is next .
