Leicester City Manager Russell Martin Prepares for Departures
Leicester City manager Russell Martin says the club must brace itself for more departures as he reshapes a squad suddenly living in League One reality.
Wout Faes and Stephy Mavididi, both prominent figures in pre-season, were nowhere to be seen in the matchday squad for Saturday’s season opener at Notts County. A week earlier, Mavididi had started the EFL Cup win over Northampton. At Meadow Lane, both watched on as Leicester were pegged back late in a 1-1 draw.
For Martin, their omission was no accident. It was a clear sign of where the club expects to stand once the transfer window shuts.
“We have to be prepared to be without them,” he told BBC Radio Leicester. “Whilst they're here, they train, they're involved. We just feel that for us, we have to be prepared to be without them.
“And if they stay, no problem, we'd be really happy with both being here, but with the level of interest that we have.”
Leicester have already turned down bids for both Faes and Mavididi, and the interest is not going away. The situation is live, but not necessarily fast-moving.
“We've turned down bids for both, but that's ongoing, so we'll see, but I'm not sure any will go soon,” Martin said.
Anxiety, tension and two points dropped
On the pitch, Leicester came within nine minutes of starting life in League One with a statement win. Instead, an 81st-minute Notts County equaliser stripped away what would have been a valuable early jolt of confidence for a young side under a new head coach.
Martin didn’t sugar-coat why it slipped.
“I think that's the biggest learning for us,” he said. “If we don't look after each other with the ball like we didn't in the last 20 minutes, the game becomes like that and it doesn't suit us.”
The performance frayed late on. Leicester lost their grip in possession, lost their composure, and invited pressure.
“It's the only frustration and it's because we have a couple of moments that make us anxious,” Martin added. “We don't play with anywhere near enough intensity and detail with the ball in our half and it keeps coming back.”
That tension, he felt, spread through a side still working out how to carry the weight of expectation in a new division.
Yet he refused to dwell solely on the collapse of control. For long spells, he saw what he wanted.
Young core, missing experience
There was a debut off the bench for forward Admir Bristric, another sign of the youthful core Martin is leaning on. By the final whistle, Leicester’s front three looked raw, energetic – and very green.
“I'm really happy with the group we have, genuinely,” he said. “They're really young, you saw that at the end. With Admir, the front three was really young.”
That youth excites him. It also exposes a gap.
“So we could probably (do with) a couple of guys that have been there and done it to help us manage a game in that way,” Martin admitted. “So we'll see, but there's nothing imminent in the next day or two.”
Leicester, then, find themselves in a delicate balance: senior players attracting bids, a young squad learning on the job, and a manager trying to keep calm while the market swirls around him.
The window is still open. The squad is still shifting. And Leicester’s League One story is only just beginning.
