Jamie Redknapp has named four Premier League clubs who should be worried about Leicester City’s rise, including tonight’s opponents Arsenal and Manchester United.
Leicester thrashed Newcastle United 5-0 on Sunday to show their top four credentials, with the Foxes now third in the Premier League and boasting some hugely exciting talents such as James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Ricardo Pereira and Ben Chilwell in their squad.
MORE: Premier League team of the week: Manchester City trio join Liverpool pair and Chelsea star in BBC line up
Brendan Rodgers also seems the ideal manager to get the best out of this Leicester squad, and Redknapp believes the likes of Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Tottenham will face a serious threat to their top four hopes this season.
Writing about LCFC in his column for the Daily Mail, Redknapp heaped praise on the club for doing so well to replace big names who have left in recent times.
Star names from that 2015/16 title-winning side like N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez have now gone, while Harry Maguire also left for Man Utd this summer.
But Redknapp believes they’ve done well to keep themselves in contention and must now be considered serious top four contenders.
“Outside of Manchester City and Liverpool, who are on another level, Leicester are the most exciting team to watch in the Premier League right now,” Redknapp said.
“They’re full of quality but for me the key is Wilfred Ndidi, who scored the fifth in their 5-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday. When N’Golo Kante left it looked like they were in trouble but Ndidi has filled that role brilliantly, giving them so much balance and freeing up Youri Tielemans and James Maddison.
“Leicester have got everything going for them right now: the stadium, the fans, the fantastic manager Brendan Rodgers. If you’ve got a season ticket at Leicester you’re getting real value for money.
“They’ve made some astute signings and they can be a regular top-six side. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs will be really worried about this Leicester team.”
Arsenal and United both missed out on Champions League qualification last season and surely cannot afford to do so again, while it could also be a long way back for Chelsea and Tottenham if they don’t make it this term.
Leicester may never repeat that miracle of 2015/16, but if they can get back into the top four during such a competitive time in this league it would certainly be almost as impressive an achievement.