Leicester face potential points deduction next season amid concerns about breaking spending rules… with Championship leaders in talks with EFL chiefs ahead of publishing accounts
- Leicester are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League
- Foxes may face a point deduction for possible violations of the spending rules
- Nottingham Forest has no right to complain about Liverpool’s winner It all starts podcast
Football League bosses believe Leicester are at risk of breaching spending rules, putting the club at risk of a possible points deduction in the future.
The Foxes are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League despite a recent flurry, although off-the-field issues appear to be casting a shadow over the rest of their season.
Leicester were relegated from the top flight last season, but lead the championship heading into the final ten games of the season.
The club lost £92.5 million for the 2021/22 financial year and will publish its 2022/23 financial year figures at the end of March.
Star midfielder James Maddison was sold to Tottenham for around £40 million in June last year.
Enzo Maresca’s Leicester are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League
Leicester sold midfielder James Maddison to Tottenham last year for around £40 million
Because they will have spent at least one season in the EFL, Leicester can afford to lose just £83m over three years, rather than the £105m allowed to Premier League clubs.
The EFL were sufficiently concerned about Leicester’s position to ask them to submit a business plan, which Leicester successfully argued was not legitimate as they were a Premier League club during the reporting period under discussion.
The easiest way for Leicester to improve its position for the 23-24 period would be to sell players before June 30.
But after Harvey Barnes was sold to Newcastle last July, there are few other assets besides midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall that Leicester could sell for a significant sum, although big earners Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi are all out of contract this summer .
A statement from Leicester acknowledged there were issues with profitability and sustainability rules.
It said: ‘Leicester City confirms it is in discussions with football authorities regarding profitability and sustainability calculations. Despite the CFRP’s decision, the club remains committed to achieving an appropriate overall outcome in this matter.”