Leicester City fans will hope that the subdued mood that initially surrounded Steve Cooper's appointment to the Foxes dug-out is replaced with a different emotion of jubilation when the Premier League finally gets underway, as the new Welsh manager aims to steer the East Midlands side successfully back up into the top division and help them thrive.
Cooper will have his work cut out to win over some of his harshest critics, however, when you consider he has only amassed a poor 12 wins from 55 games as a manager in the elite league to date, but the King Power Stadium masses will have to get behind the ex-Nottingham Forest boss no matter what and hope he can succeed as Enzo Maresca's replacement.
There have been some positives in the transfer window so far, as Leicester aim to add in talents that won't wilt under the intense spotlight of the Premier League in the form of Caleb Okoli and Michael Golding.
Still, when it comes to major incomings entering through the door, the books will have to be appropriately balanced in due course, which could see this forgotten Foxes midfielder be offloaded for good, ahead of the challenging season to come.
Boubakary Soumare's transfer to Leicester
There would have been a lot of hype in the air during the summer window before the 2021/22 season got underway that Leicester were going to strike gold with the purchase of Boubakary Soumare from French side Lille, signing on the dotted line for the Foxes for a reported £17m, after just being fresh off a Ligue 1 title success in France.
The then 22-year-old midfielder would also put pen to paper on a bumper five-year contract to sign for Brendan Rodgers' men, with the world then expected of Soumare to shine in this new English location, to justify the long deal and his excessive price tag.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the towering 6 foot 2 holding midfielder playing at the King Power to date, with the Frenchman nowhere to be found during Leicester's title-winning campaign last time out, as Soumare was allowed to join Sevilla on loan instead.
This could mean his future is on shaky ground ahead of the new Premier League season under Cooper, especially when you cast an eye over his underwhelming displays in the top division for the Foxes before he was shipped out to Spain, with reports now circulating that the newly promoted outfit will try to offload Soumare this summer, even if it is for a cut-price.
Soumare's time at Leicester so far
The former Paris. St Germain youth player has never quite been able to hold down a consistent starting spot for Leicester, way before his loan adventure out to La Liga had even come to fruition.
During his first full campaign in the Premier League, the forgotten Foxes figure would have to wait patiently until the middle of September for his first-ever start in the division, with just 12 starts handed his way across his limited first-team action – coming in at 19 league appearances during the 2021/22 season in total.
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Leicester (19th September 2021)
1. GK – Kasper Schmeichel
2. RB – Ricardo Pereira
3. Jannick Vestergaard
4. CB – Caglar Soyuncu
5. LB – Ryan Bertrand
6. CDM – Wilfred Ndidi
7. RM – James Maddison
8. CM – Boubakary Soumare
9. CM – Youri Tielemans
10. LM – Harvey Barnes
11. ST – Jamie Vardy
Whilst his midfield teammates on the day such as Youri Tielemans and James Maddison have now gone onto far luxurious pastures since lining up alongside Soumare versus the Seagulls, the ex-Lille man could now be staring his exit from the King Power on a permanent basis in the face, especially when you take a glance at his continued woes during his second full campaign in the East Midlands.
Soumare's game time would increase, but he would end up having the stain of relegation on his CV at the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, with an unmemorable 26 games notched up along the way to the Foxes crashing down to the Championship.
There would be widespread joy on social media, therefore, when Soumare was offloaded right at the death of last summer's window to Sevilla, with Leicester fans severely let down by how underwhelming their £17m man was to watch in the flesh.
It's not as if the 25-year-old went away to La Liga and managed to shine brightly either, with 28 top-flight games under his belt in his new location passing him by before returning back to England – with only one goal contribution mustered up at his short-term employers – and so Cooper and Co will now be tasked in trying to get rid of the Foxes dud once and for all.
Away from being largely unimpressive for Leicester, Soumare's extortionate pay packet will also be a concern and a major factor as to why they'll want to accelerate a move away for the former Lille midfielder very soon, with his current wage making him a higher earner than dependable first-teamer Wilfred Ndidi and trending target, Matias Soule.
Soumare's wage at Leicester
According to Capology, Soumare will be earning a ludicrous salary of £80k-per-week next season back at the King Power if he is not offloaded, making him the third highest earner in Cooper's camp consequently.
Only Jamie Vardy and Harry Winks earn more than the on-the-fringes midfielder currently, who earn an eye-watering £100k-per-week and £90k-per-week respectively, but they are likely to remain in and around the first-team under the new Welsh boss to justify their bumper salaries.
1. Jamie Vardy
£100k-per-week
2. Harry Winks
£90k-per-week
3. Boubakary Soumare
£80k-per-week
4. Ricardo Pereira
£75k-per-week
5. Patson Daka
£75k-per-week
Ndidi earns £5k-per-week less than Soumare at £75k-per-week, despite the Nigerian midfielder being a consistent performer for Leicester for many seasons now, with the long-standing servant helping himself to seven goals and nine assists from 192 games in the Premier League for the Foxes.
Moreover, removing Soumare from the wage bill could be a wise call to make in order to allow for new signings to enter the building and not stretch the club's finances too much, with talk have been rife over a move for the aforementioned Soule in recent times.
Soule would score 11 goals in Serie A last season for loan employers Frosinone, with the up-and-coming star only on a meagre wage of £9k-per-week back at parent club Juventus.
Yet, the suggestion now is that the Argentine is instead set to be on his way to Roma, with Cooper and Co now having to make do with tricky attackers such as Stephy Mavididi already at their disposal away from the South American.
As for Soumare, there might well not be any room for the forgotten midfielder in the newly promoted squad next season, as Leicester aim to sell on their high earner this summer and forget about an expensive flop costing them dear.
Leicester could hit gold by selling a star who's worth more than Soule
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ByKelan SarsonJul 24, 2024