Vultures circling may be a footballing cliche but when it comes to relegation - particularly from the Premier League - it's rarely wide of the mark.
For a club like Leicester, jam-packed with individual talent despite their travails last season, it's perhaps doubly so, with a string of international stars likely to be eyeing upwardly mobile moves in preference to a campaign in the Sky Bet Championship.
The Foxes were arguably unlucky to go down - their goal difference was the best in the bottom six, their goal tally (51) the bottom half's highest and Infogol's expected goals (xG) table suggested they deserved to finish 13th, five places higher than they did.
But go down they did and the exit door has already opened with several out-of-contract players - Ayoze Perez, Daniel Amartey, Caglar Soyuncu and, most damagingly, Jonny Evans and Aston Villa new boy Youri Tielemans - leaving the club.
With incoming boss Enzo Maresca likely to continue the clear-out as he stamps his own imprint on the job with a probable summer rebuild, who else will follow those aforementioned players out of the Foxes' den?
James Maddison
- Position: Attacking midfielder
- Contract ends: June 2024
Start with the obvious one, eh? Of all the players currently remaining at Leicester, Maddison is virtually a surefire lock to leave – if he stays, the Foxes will lose him on a free next summer which, surely, they don't want to risk.
Quite simply he's too good for the Championship, especially when he'll have strong ambitions to play for England at Euro 2024, having finally earned a place in Gareth Southgate’s recent squads when many thought he should have been picked earlier.
In a relegated side, Maddison’s numbers remained ridiculously strong – look at the company he is keeping.
Plus he was Leicester's second leading scorer with 10 goals and only six Premier League players bettered his assists tally (9).
Newcastle have long been considered frontrunners for his signature and Tottenham are hovering too, with the betting markets currently suggesting it's one of the two for Maddison, both priced at even money.
Wout Faes
- Position: Centre-back
- Contract ends: June 2027
Leicester's lone signing last summer, quickly brought in to fill the void vacated by Wesley Fofana's deadline-day Chelsea switch, Faes endured a testing debut season in England, comically highlighted by two own goals in the same game at Anfield.
The Belgium international improved as the campaign went on and may feel his Euro 2024 chances could be damaged by a year in England's second tier - but with four years left on his contract, the 25-year-old may have to suck it up unless interest emerges from abroad.
On one hand, Leicester have already lost Evans, Amartey and Soyuncu from their central defensive core but on the other will Faes really want to stay? Such is his situation, neither eventuality could be considered a surprise.
Timothy Castagne
- Position: Right-back
- Contract ends: June 2025
Faes' compatriot Castagne is a far more likelier candidate to leave Leicester in the close-season, with the 27-year-old indicating to Belgian journalists during the recent European Championship qualifiers that he is seeking a new club.
The full-back has been one of the Foxes' more dependable and consistent defensive performers during three years in the East Midlands since a £25m move from Serie A club Atalanta - and is a regular starter amid a star-studded Belgium national side.
He was almost ever-present last term, starting 36 of Leicester's 38 Premier League matches, contributing three assists and 2.4 tackles per game from right-back - the latter only surpassed by January signing Victor Kristiansen on the other side of defence.
Arsenal and Juventus are rumoured to be among the sides interested in signing the speedy defender and even if those dream moves do not arise, Fulham, Bournemouth or Crystal Palace could provide him an immediate return to the Premier League.
Leicester are likely to cash in given that they already possess ready-made stand-ins like James Justin and Ricardo Pereira.
Wilfried Ndidi
- Position: Defensive midfielder
- Contract ends: June 2024
Ndidi is one of Leicester's longest-serving players, having joined the Foxes from Belgian side Genk in the January transfer window of 2017, but the 26-year-old, previously a midfield mainstay, has been in and out of the side in the past two seasons.
With his contract ending next summer, this is Leicester's last chance to command any sort of return on the £14m fee they laid out six years ago.
Initially signed as a replacement of sorts for N'Golo Kante, who left Leicester for Chelsea after the Foxes' 2015-16 Premier League triumph, Ndidi has been a solid if unspectacular performer at the base of City's midfield during his time there.
A move to different shores looks likeliest for the 51-cap Nigeria international although he could end up remaining relatively close with former Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers reportedly interested in a reunion with Ndidi by taking him to Celtic.
Harvey Barnes
- Position: Left winger
- Contract ends: June 2025
While people have, rightly, raved over James Maddison's performances for Leicester for some time, Harvey Barnes has gone comparatively under the radar but the 25-year-old enjoyed his best season yet in front of goal in 2022-23.
The wide man ended as the Foxes' leading scorer with 13 goals and his 2.1 shots per game figure was bettered only by Maddison in Leicester's ranks.
Barnes has gradually improved in each of the four campaigns since spending a season on loan at West Bromwich Albion in 2018-19 and it is no wonder clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and Celtic have been linked with his signature.
It is the Hammers (5/4) who lead the race according to the odds, with Aston Villa (6/4) his second most likely destination.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
- Position: Central midfielder
- Contract ends: June 2027
The 24-year-old has become a regular in Leicester's midfield since returning from a season on loan with Luton Town two years ago but has scored just five goals in 80 appearances for the Foxes.
However, only James Maddison topped Dewsbury-Hall's key passes and attempted dribbles per game for Leicester last term and that ability and desire to make something happen out of nothing will attract admiring glances from elsewhere.
Unsurpisingly, his former club Luton are believed to be mulling over a move for him but whether the newly-promoted Hatters can afford the asking price for a player with four years left on a relatively fresh deal could well be the sticking point.
Jamie Vardy
- Position: Striker
- Contract ends: June 2024
Jamie Vardy’s role on the fringes of Leicester’s relegation struggles for much of the season was strange to see considering how influential a figure he has been for the Foxes down the years.
Even with starting almost as many games on the bench as he did on the pitch, Vardy still recorded Leicester’s fourth highest xG per game Premier League figure of 0.26.
At 36, his shelf life is short but with his contract up next summer, Leicester may be tempted into accepting a cut-price switch for their talisman, one of the rare players in modern times to have spent more than a decade with the same club.
Could the MLS or even the Saudi League beckon to provide the former England forward with one last hurrah and/or payday? That sort of move appears the likeliest eventuality with his age surely putting off any top-flight clubs able to afford him.
Kelechi Iheanacho
- Position: Striker
- Contract ends: June 2024
Yet another Foxes player with a year left to run on his contract, Kelechi Iheanacho is not only a saleable commodity, he is also a striker arguably in need of a fresh start to re-energise his career.
The Nigeria foward has spent six seasons with the Foxes since joining from Manchester City, with a more than respectable record of 55 goals in 206 appearances.
But he seemed to have peaked in the first half of 2021 when a magical run of 16 goals in 19 games helped propel Leicester towards their first ever FA Cup triumph - indeed it's taken him two entire seasons to score his next 16 Foxes goals.
Leicester could be tempted to retain the 26-year-old in the hope he can tear Championship defences apart but his decent scoring record and all-round game will have its admirers at any non-elite European top-flight club.
