As they return to the Premier League, Leicester should be living the high life. Their preparation for Chelsea will be put to the test. Both teams now risk losing points and are ready for intense examination this summer.
At Leicester, the restrictions Chelsea will have to work within might be suffocating as much as frustrating. The degree to which someone may express excitement about promotion depends on how much Burnley and Sheffield United you have really watched this season. Before the season started, the Blades traded away maybe their two finest players, Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge, in what many saw as a cowardly admission of their impending relegation.
Although Leicester will have to make difficult decisions of their own, there is a feeling that, having won the FA Cup in 2021 and the English championship in 2015–16, they are now simply too large to take the parachute money and be on their way.
The contracts of Wilfried Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Jannik Vestergaard, Dennis Praet, and others, who they might theoretically sell for a respectable sum, expire in June. Talks on their futures won’t start until they find out which league they’ll be in the following season, according to manager Enzo Maresca.
They lost a lot of money during the time they sold Wesley Fofana for £70 million and James Maddison for £40 million. Brighton, Brentford, and Arsenal are keen to keep Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall away from them. They might not have an option.
Take a look at Leeds and Leicester to see how the Premier League has skewed the Championship
There’s still some hope. The Premier League is thinking of modifying its PSR regulations to more closely resemble the Uefa version. The “squad cost” rule—which takes wages, transfer fees, and agent fees into account—will be the main focus of the changes. At the moment, Chelsea’s pay to turnover ratio complies with FIFA regulations.
According to Plumley, “there has always been this recommended wages to turnover ratio of 70%. It has never been enforced but it’s been recommended.”
The big six English teams, on average over the past five years, are well within that range. The Premier League wants to have it set at eighty-five percent.
Regulating those huge clubs will, regrettably, only help them further because of their well-established business models, high revenue streams, and comparatively lower cost structures than those of other teams.
But what would happen to Leicester if the Premier League changed all of its rules for the upcoming season? Does that imply that we have altered the rules so drastically that they are not subject to charges?
Premier League clubs have not all agreed to the proposed rule amendments. What will happen to its former champions now? If they can demonstrate the amount spent on youth development, the women’s team, and infrastructure, they can partially offset their losses.
However, the terrain up ahead is rugged. Even though the gap between the Championship and the Premier League seems enormous, they will be starting from a disadvantage when they return to the top division. For a dress rehearsal, first.