Why did Kasper Schmeichel leave Leicester City for Nice? Transfer-shy Foxes left short on goalkeepers ahead of new Premier League season

After 11 years, Kasper Schmeichel has officially left Leicester City and joined French club Nice on a three-year deal. 

The 35-year-old played a huge role in the Foxes’ resurgence which saw them promoted and swiftly win the Premier League title in 2015-16. 

Schmeichel departs Leicester after playing 479 games for the club and leaves some sizable gloves to fill in goal. 

Why did Schmeichel leave Leicester City for Nice?

Going into the final year of his contract with Leicester, The Athletic reports that Schmeichel simply wanted a new challenge after over a decade with the same club. 

The Foxes were in need of some transfer funds and may have felt the time was right to sell their Danish star. 

Nice also presents an ideal destination for Schmeichel with the club on the cusp of playing in Europe this season after securing a spot in the Conference League playoffs. 

The 35-year-old has spent his entire senior career playing football in the UK with France not a bad place to mix things up. 

Nice needed to bolster their goalkeeping ranks after the exit of Walter Benitez and have found an ideal replacement in Schmeichel. 

Who will replace Schmeichel at Leicester City?

With Schmeichel being the Foxes’ first-choice goalkeeper since his arrival in 2011, manager Brendan Rodgers must now find a new number one ahead of the 2022-23 Premier League season. 

As things stand, Leicester only have two senior keepers in their current squad: Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen.

While Ward is the older of the two and has played 26 times for Wales, Iversen is a genuine contender to replace Schmeichel between the sticks. 

The 25-year-old is a Denmark youth international and played regularly on loan with Preston North End in the Championship last season where he was named the club’s player of the year. 

Leicester could also look into bringing in a new goalkeeper altogether and make them their starting shot-stopper.  

Will Leicester City sign anyone this summer? 

Remarkably, Leicester City are the only Premier League club yet to make a new signing over the summer. 

While Schmeichel is their first notable departure, more key exits appear on the horizon with James Maddison the target of bids from Newcastle United and Wesley Fofana linked with interest from Chelsea. 

The Foxes have previously stressed a need to sell players before buying new ones with Rodgers recently declaring he’s willing to make do with what he has. 

“Every manager in this league wants a better squad. But I’m not one who’s going to sit here and kill my board. I’m not going to do that,” Rodgers said. 

“Would I want a better squad? 100 per cent, absolutely. But will I work with what I have? Of course I will.

“I knew exactly what we needed six months ago, what we wanted, what the team is crying out for.

“But I really can’t lose sleep and pine for my fast right winger. Because if I can’t get it, I have to make do the best I can.

“I’d love to be in that position where the team is adding because if I could add to this group, as it’s growing and developing, then it’d be really, really exciting. If I can’t, I’m still excited to work with what I have.”

Leicester City in Premier League 2022/23 TV channels, live streams

 
UK
USA
Canada
Australia
TV channel
Sky Sports, BT Sport
USA Network, Telemundo, Universo
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Streaming
NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime
fuboTV, Peacock
fuboTV
Optus Sport

UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.

USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.

Canada: Every Premier League game streams live and on demand exclusively via fuboTV.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream matches live and on demand on Optus Sport.