Why Leicester City should always thank Huddersfield Town for huge Chelsea cash windfall | OneFootball

Ben Chilwell enjoyed a loan spell at Huddersfield Town before cementing himself as a key player for Leicester City

During Leicester City's extended period in the Premier League from 2014 to 2023, the club developed a number of top stars into huge cash windfalls through the transfer market.

This transfer model was crucial to ensuring the team maintained a strong competitive level, particularly after their remarkable title triumph in 2016.

Future success followed with the FA Cup in 2021 under Brendan Rodgers, but everthing fell apart just two years later as financial issues struck and relegation dropped the team into the relegation zone then through the trap door.

However, it was still a highly memorable period in the club's history, and supporters will always remember it very fondly.

Shrewd deals were a core component of their rise to the pinnacle of English football, and smart recruitment ensured they battled back to fifth place finishes in the years that followed, earning the Foxes qualification for the Europa League.

Some notable big money sales included Riyad Mahrez leaving for Manchester City for £60 million, Wesley Fofana to Chelsea for £75 million and James Maddison to Tottenham Hotspur for £40 million.

As well as that, Ben Chilwell was sold to Chelsea for £50 million, while Harvey Barnes departed to Newcastle United for £39 million, which in total equals an impressive £264 million from just five player sales.

Leicester City have Huddersfield Town to thank for major Chelsea windfall

Before Chilwell made it big as a part of the Leicester first team, he enjoyed a brief but effective loan spell in the Championship with Huddersfield Town.

It should not easily be forgotten the role the Terriers played in helping the Foxes earn this £50 million windfall from Chelsea.

The full-back needed senior level experience but was not ready to break into Claudio Ranieri’s side when they won the Premier League title in 2015/16.

This led to him moving to the Yorkshire outfit on loan in November 2015 after making his debut for the Foxes in an EFL Cup clash just a couple of months prior.

The defender started in a 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough on 28 November to make his first appearance for the Yorkshire outfit, and he played a total of eight times for the club before returning to Leicester in January 2016.

Chilwell started on all but one occasion, and earned his stripes at Championship level, showing that he had enough potential to get very excited about at the King Power.

While he wasn’t able to contribute a goal or an assist, his prowess as an attacking full-back was clear even from a smaller sample size.

In a difficult campaign for David Wagner’s side, Chilwell’s arrival coincided with a run of form that led to the team earning 13 points from 24, which was a quarter of their total points haul as they finished 19th in the table, meaning he made a substantial difference in their survival.

Given they earned promotion to the Premier League the following campaign, this loan proved very beneficial for all parties.

Chilwell success showed Leicester a pathway to future big money sales

Chilwell played twice more for Leicester that season, starting in two FA Cup third round games against Tottenham Hotspur, but didn’t make his first Premier League appearance until 2016/17.

It was a difficult year as defending champions for the club, but the full-back proved to be one of the few bright sparks as he played 12 times in their 12th place finish.

Chilwell ultimately developed into a £50 million player during his time at the King Power - a substantial windfall for the club.

Huddersfield's role in his development may seem minor on the surface, but the experience he gained in the Championship was vital to his progress as a player.

The club pulled a similar trick with Barnes during his loan spells at Barnsley and West Brom, with the winger enjoying two stints in the Championship, which helped develop him into a £39 million player by the time he left the King Power.

As well as that, the £50 million received in the 2020 summer transfer window helped the club in signing the likes of Wesley Fofana (who developed into a £75 million sale), Timothy Castagne and Cengiz Under.

And Leicester had the last laugh later that season when they faced Chelsea in the FA Cup final in front of 20,000 fans. Youri Tielemans’ long-range strike gave Rodgers’ side a 1-0 lead, and Chilwell had thought he equalised late in the game before VAR ruled the goal out for offside.

It finished 1-0 and the Foxes had their first ever FA Cup triumph in their history.