Leicester City must only green-light Derby County transfer on one condition | OneFootball

FLW's Leicester City fan pundit believes that Hamza Choudhury should leave for Derby, but wants his side to bolster the squad further first

Leicester City are set for a busy final week of the transfer window, as the few remaining players from their Premier League days search for routes out of the League One side.

Hamza Choudhury has become the latest player linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium, with Championship outfit Derby County looking to bring the 28-year-old in as he enters the final year of his deal with the Foxes.

Choudhury was never fully able to nail down a regular place in the Foxes squad. The Leicester academy graduate made 166 senior appearances for the club in nine years following his senior debut in 2017.

However, his versatility proved useful to whichever man was in the dugout at the King Power, and it seems to be a quality that Rams boss John Eustace admires, too.

Leicester City fan pundit feels it's the right time for Hamza Choudhury to leave Leicester City

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Every club's fanbase has some affinity to their academy graduates, and with Choudhury spending over 20 years at the club, there'll be some fans who will be sad to see the 28-year-old leave if he does this summer.

But, given the disappointment of last season's relegation and the fact that the Bangladesh international wasn't an important player during their Premier League years, some Leicester supporters are either apathetic or actually happy about a potential departure.

FLW's Foxes fan pundit, Jamie Preston, acknowledges that Choudhury has been a "decent servant" to the club, but admits he'll be fine saying "adios" to their academy graduate this summer.

"Hamza Choudhury to Derby...they must be really desperate if they want him!" he said.

"But to be fair, he's been a decent servant to Leicester over the years, albeit he's had a couple of loans. He's a bit of a red card waiting to happen.

"But in my mind, it would be 'Adios senor Hamza, it's time for you to go. You've done us proud, but I'm not too sure you fit in here anymore.'"

Leicester City fan pundit wants more squad additions before the club entertains selling Hamza Choudhury

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The relegation to League One hasn't changed Choudhury's position in the pecking order much at the King Power Stadium.

The 28-year-old came off the bench in the first three competitive games before being left out completely for their EFL Cup second-round matchup with Ipswich Town, with manager Russell Martin stating that he needed "to prepare with the guys we think are definitely going to be here."

Leicester have made nine signings already this summer, but have also seen a raft of senior players depart the club, too. Choudhury may not have been starting, but Preston wants to see the squad bolstered first, so the loss of a useful squad player isn't felt as much.

"At the minute, we do lack in midfield," he admitted. "So can we afford to let him go if we don't bring anyone in? We've already made nine signings, and we need to make a couple more to have a good squad to get over our bad start.

"It'd be nice for him to go and get him off the books, but we don't have a big enough squad to do that, in my mind. If we get some more players in, then adios, senior Hamza."

Leicester City will have to trust in emerging talents if Hamza Choudhury departs

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Leicester went into their second-ever League One campaign with very few positives at the club, but the one good thing would have been the chance to bed in some emerging academy products who otherwise wouldn't be at the level to play first-team football regularly.

Already, we've seen Sammy Braybrooke, who had a brilliant 2025/26 term on loan with Newport County and Chesterfield, start both games in the middle of the park, similarly with Will Alves off the left.

However, while it is exciting to see these academy players get their chance in the first team, letting go of so many senior pros could leave the squad looking quite thin and inexperienced.

On Tuesday night against Ipswich, Russell Martin had to deploy debutant Conor Chaplin as the deep-lying midfielder in the absence of Oliver Skipp and Choudhury, and while 18-year-old Louie Page looks to be staying put, despite the interest from Manchester United, that just goes to show how threadbare this Foxes midfield can be with one or two absentees.

The majority of Leicester fans won't mind if Choudhury does leave the club before the transfer window closes next Tuesday, but they definitely will mind if it leaves them light ahead of a long run of games until the end of the calendar year.