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da prosport bet： Leicester City’s 4-1 loss to Crystal Palace proved terminal for Claude Puel’s tenure at the helm as the Frenchman was given the boot just two days later. It was soon apparent who was being lined up to replace the former Southampton manager and Brendan Rodgers quickly quit Celtic in favour of a sensational return to the Premier League.
The Northern Irishman was in attendance for the Foxes’ 2-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday and was no doubt assessing his group of players ahead of his first training session.
While he would have been impressed what he saw from the likes of Jamie Vardy and Demarai Gray, who both scored on the night, there may be a few players he should already be planning to axe.
Who, then, are the three players Rodgers needs to give the boot if he is to take Leicester to the next level?
Shinji Okazaki
Okazaki will go down in Leicester history for the part he played in the Foxes’ 15/16 title-winning campaign, but that was three years ago now and, if the club is to progress, they must offload the Japan international.
The 32-year-old has made 18 appearances this season but has failed to net, instead chalking up just one assist – a poor return for any Premier League forward, let alone one playing for a team that are chasing top half success.
Leicester signed the industrious attacker from Mainz in the summer prior to their wonder-land season but he has hardly set the world alight and is now into his twilight years. Rodgers should sell the fan-favourite in the summer.
Danny Simpson
A similar case to Okazaki, 32-year-old Simpson is far past his best and, despite being a fixture in the Leicester side three years ago, is now a spare part at the King Power Stadium.
The right-back has made just five Premier League appearances this season, instead getting most of his football playing for the development side or in the domestic cup competitions, in which Leicester were poor.
Ricardo Pereira has nailed down the starting spot on the right of the back four and the Portuguese is going nowhere any time soon – he has chalked up seven goal contributions in 25 league appearances for the Foxes and is a serious challenger to James Maddison for the East Midlands outfit’s signing of the summer.
In October, Puel said that former Manchester United man Simpson must be respected for his exploits under Claudio Ranieri but that he couldn’t guarantee the defender game-time. The Frenchman stuck to his word but perhaps it’s time Rodgers finished the job and showed him to the exit door.
Nampalys Mendy
Ranieri surely thought he was getting the perfect N’Golo Kante replacement when Nampalys Mendy arrived at the King Power Stadium in the summer of 2016 – both are of a similar build and mould with fantastic work-rate – but the 26-year-old has struggled to fill the void left by Kante.
Check out a Celtic fan perspective on Brendan Rodgers leaving Celtic for Leicester in the video below…
The Frenchman was a firm favourite under Puel and has made 24 league appearances this season but his numbers don’t stand up – Mendy is statistically one of the worst players in the squad, averaging a match rating of 6.43. If Rodgers is to take Leicester to new heights, finding a quality defensive partner for Wilfred Ndidi in the middle of the park is a priority.