Leicester City transfer dossier: Foxes must combat expected Riyad Mahrez exit

Another turbulent season in the life of Leicester City football club ended once again with survival, yet there remains a feeling the club failed to do themselves justice.

The Foxes, though largely as expected, tumbled down the division and before Claudio Ranieri was mercilessly sacked, flirted with dropping into the Championship.

But life under Craig Shakespeare has been poetry in motion and after the club secured survival with ease and narrowly missed out on a top half place, producing the type of football which defined their title win.

A campaign of tranquillity is badly needed at the King Power Stadium but that might not be assisted by the imminent departure of some big-name players.

Business so far

In one of the few deals struck by Premier League clubs since the season came to a close, Leicester have signed 20-year-old centre-back Sam Hughes on a three-year deal. The former Chester defender has labelled the move as a "dream come true". He joins the likes of James Vardy in swapping the lower divisions – in this case the National League – for the top flight.

Seven players have left the east Midlands club after their deals came to an end. The highest profile departure is Marcin Wasilewski, who made five appearances last season but was part of the squad which earned promotion from the Championship.

What they need

Captain Wes Morgan's fitness problems saw him play just once between the middle of March and the end of the season and Leicester looked badly exposed without him. A reliable replacement for the Jamaican must be top of Shakespeare's shopping list.

Jamie Vardy's lack of form also exposed the dearth of depth in attack with Islam Slimani failing to justify his club record transfer fee. Elsewhere, finding replacement for the raft of expected departures must be priority to ensure the club start the season with a fighting chance.

Who could join

Gylfi Sigurdsson has been heavily linked with replacing Riyad Mahrez, should the Algerian join Arsenal. Leicester are understood to have identified the Icelander as their preferred option to come in for the winger. Yet whether Sigurdsson will trade-in Paul Clement's project in south Wales to become the fulcrum of Leciester's side remains to be seen. It would be fair to say that beyond that, the club are trying to keep hold of their best players.

Who could leave

Mahrez has made no secret of his desire to leave Leicester, despite flattering to deceive last season, with Arsenal destined to complete a £50m deal for the winger. Jamie Vardy could follow, should Leicester decide to sign the England forward to replace the imminently departing Romelu Lukaku.

Demarai Gray's opportunities did not improve substantially last season and after missing out on signing Wilfried Zaha, Tottenham Hotspur's attention is on the 21-year-old. Meanwhile, after enduring a horrible maiden campaign in England, Ahmed Musa is set to leave with West Bromwich Albion among his suitors.

Kasper Schmeichel, Ben Chilwell and Wilfried Ndidi – three players who largely impressed last season - have all been linked with leaving Leicester, ensuring the squad will have a completely different look to when they assembled for pre-season training in July.

What the manager has said

Having worked as Ranieri's assistant, Shakespeare was already well-aware of the limitations of the squad and after being enlisted as the manager on a permanent basis, is under no illusions as to the work required to address last season's shortcomings.

"There is not enough strength," he said. "We have come to injuries at the last bit of the season. We have managed to get through the games before that. Recruitment is a massive area at any football club. You have to get that right, but we have been fortunate with injuries and when you miss all the players we missed it will take its toll."