Leicester City ended their season with a thrilling encounter which saw Tottenham Hotspur get the better of them in a nine-goal extravaganza. The final score was 5-4 and Leicester would have hoped for a better end to the season. Their season never seemed to take off as they were inconsistent throughout their entire campaign. They ended up finishing in the top half of the table and secured a ninth-place finish.
As the season has come to an end, the Foxes will have a busy transfer window as there are quite a few players who are on the verge of completing their contract. One of them is Shinji Okazaki who has been at the club since 2015 and has served them well.
The Japanese forward has usually been overshadowed by the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who have been stealing away all the limelight. However, from time to time, Okazaki has popped up with some crucial goals and played a role in their Premier League winning campaign. It will be interesting to see whether the contract of the 32-year-old forward will be extended. He has a contract up until 2019.
Claude Puel’s future itself is under scanner as he has failed to reach the expected levels with the current Leicester squad. However, he hasn’t been helped by injuries to some of the key members of the squad including Okazaki. Regarding the injury crisis he had said,”Today there was eight who weren’t available but it was the opportunity to give some game time to other players to see their quality. After we will make a point of sitting down with the owners and with Jon Rudkin (director of football) to discuss the strength we need to add to the team.”
The fact that he is talking about the future of the players and how he is going to improve them, it seems that Leicester board will stick with Puel for next season as well. Along with bringing in fresh talents, he will also have to decide whether he is going to let go of Shinji Okazaki or keep him at the King Power Stadium for the future.
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Okazaki has been a good squad player for the Foxes and has partnered up with Jamie Vardy. He is a willing runner and his commitment and desire have never been questioned. The Japanese forward managed seven goals and four assists this season in 32 appearances and most of those had come from the bench. That is certainly not a bad haul of goals from a squad player and at 32 one might think that this is the right moment to sell him and get some value out of him. However, Leicester can extend his contract for another year as he still adds good value to the team and doesn’t complain about being a non-regular starter.
