Leicester City have missed a trick ignoring transfer need - Marti Cifuentes is suffering now | OneFootball

Leicester City's attacking woes are the result of one key decision made last summer

Leicester City’s failure to sign an adequate replacement for Jamie Vardy last summer is proving a real issue in these early weeks of the new Championship season.

The legendary forward ended his time at the King Power Stadium following the Foxes' relegation from the Premier League, leaving a glaring hole in the squad.

While he was no longer playing at the peak of his powers, the 38-year-old did still manage nine goals in the top flight, as well as 18 in the Championship in the successful promotion-winning campaign in the year prior.

Martí Cifuentes’ side have not made the strongest of starts to the new season, and it is becoming increasingly clear that nobody is stepping up to fill Vardy’s position of leading the line.

Abdul Fatawu is their top scorer after eight games with just two goals, while Jordan Ayew has found the back of the net only once as their regular striker option.

Leicester City’s wayward shooting

It has been highlighted by supporters that Leicester’s form in front of goal in their last two games is particularly abysmal.

Cifuentes’ team have managed just two shots on target from 19 attempts in 1-1 draws against both West Brom and Wrexham.

Two points from these two games is below expectations for a side that have spent most of the last decade in the Premier League.

In comparison, by this time of the 2023/24 campaign, Leicester had 24 points from a possible 27 and were top of the table with a four point gap to third place.

The Foxes had 18 goals scored and only six conceded, whereas their current form reads 10 goals for and seven against, with 13 points from a possible 24.

It’s clear that there are problems in the team with finding the back of the net, with an obvious lack of a consistent threat in the final third.

Vardy should have been replaced in the summer, but instead the only move to improve the forward line was to bring Julian Carranza in on loan from Feyenoord.

The striker has made three substitute appearances, and is struggling to make much of an impact on Cifuentes’ first-team plans.

Ayew has been chosen over him consistently, but the 34-year-old’s performances have been uninspiring.

Leicester City’s concerning attacking stats

What’s even more concerning for Leicester is that they are also overperforming their expected goals (xG) in these early stages of the season (stats from Fbref).

Their 10 goals have been scored from an xG of 8.7, which is a worrying sign for the level of chance creation they’re actually providing.

So, while the last two games have highlighted their lack of clinical edge, the general trend is that they’ve actually had some good finishing over the course of eight games that they might not be able to keep up.

In their first six games, Leicester scored eight from an xG of 5.4, so we are already seeing that over-performance regress in their draws with West Brom and Wrexham.

Leicester are 11th in the league for goals scored, but are actually 13th in the Championship for xG, highlighting a real issue in taking quality shots.

Cifuentes’ side are ranked at the bottom in the division for xG per shot, with a total of only 0.08, the same as Charlton Athletic, QPR and Sheffield United.

Blackburn Rovers, meanwhile, are top with an xG per shot of 0.12, which may not look like a big difference, but it adds up quite quickly when teams are taking a number of shots per game.

Leicester, in fact, have the fifth most of any club in the Championship, and their shots on target percentage of 33 is also the fifth best.

But these chances simply aren’t testing the opposition goalkeeper enough and this is where the absence of Vardy is particularly felt.

The 38-year-old had an xG per shot last season of 0.17, which is the kind of attacking threat Leicester failed to sign to replace him last summer.