{"id":656099,"date":"2025-06-26T05:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=656099"},"modified":"2025-06-24T21:29:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T01:29:54","slug":"leicester-city-2015-16-signings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/06\/26\/leicester-city-2015-16-signings\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2015\/16 Leicester City Title Winning Signings: Where They Are Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2015, Leicester City were coming off the back of “the great escape”. The Foxes had been bottom of the table until as late as matchday 32, and were there for over four months. However, a late run of form, which included just one defeat in their last nine games, led to a comfortable 14th-place finish. The momentum gained from the end of the campaign can’t be understated, but many still felt Leicester would be relegated next season<\/a>, as suggested by their 5000\/1 odds of winning the league. In addition to this, the departure of Nigel Pearson also left a lot to be desired after the prior heroics. Claudio Ranieri replaced Pearson, and didn’t spark excitement amongst pundits alike. The transfer window of 2015 was key in the club’s Premier League title win. Head of Recruitment Steve Walsh was crucial in the incomings, which led to the historic Premier League title win.<\/p>\n

The 2015\/16 Leicester City Signings: Where Are They Now?<\/h2>\n

Shinji Okazaki<\/h3>\n

After starting his career in his homeland, Japan, Okazaki made his move to Europe in 2011. Stints with Stuttgart and Mainz proved enough for the Foxes to spend almost \u00a31om<\/a> on the forward this summer. The move was to be immensely valuable as he played a major part in Ranieri’s system. Despite scoring just five goals, with no assists, Okazaki offered more through his ability to drop deep and overload the midfield. With the use of a traditional 4-4-2, Okazaki’s role cannot be forgotten in how he aided the side in and out of possession.<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/strong>Leicester City Owner Drops Hint on Next Managerial Choice<\/a><\/p>\n

Following on from becoming a Premier League champion, the Japanese international remained at the club until 2019. He then made further moves around Europe, including a season with Malaga, before retiring in 2024 at the age of 38.<\/p>\n

N’Golo Kante<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most significant addition from 2015 was the unknown midfielder. Kante, aged 24 at the time, traded Caen for Leicester, despite the French side’s stability in the top flight. He was scouted by the aforementioned\u00a0Walsh<\/a>, who heavily praised his ability to cover the pitch, which led to the \u00a35.5m move<\/a> being completed.<\/p>\n

Despite not hitting the ground<\/a> running and even starting off the left, the Frenchman soon became one of the best midfielders in the world. He made more interceptions and tackles than any other player during the season, and was eventually named in the PFA Team Of The Year. As a result of these performances, Kante inevitably moved to Chelsea the following summer for around \u00a330m<\/a>. His level of performance since then has never stopped, as he helped win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and even the World Cup for France in 2018. He currently resides in Saudi Arabia, playing for Al Ittihad, whom he helped win the league this season.<\/p>\n

G\u00f6khan Inler<\/h4>\n

Swiss midfielder G\u00f6khan Inler was one of the more well-known incomings. After playing a combined total of over 300 games for Serie A powerhouses Napoli and Udinese, Inler found himself in the East Midlands. He joined for just \u00a35m<\/a> from Naples, which looked to be a steal at the time, given his European pedigree. However, this didn’t prove to be true.<\/p>\n

The midfielder was described as being ‘sick’<\/a> due to the lack of playing time. The 31-year-old at the time played just under 200 minutes in the league, with just five appearances. The unstoppable duo of Danny Drinkwater and Kante was a major reason for this and thus led to Inler’s departure in 2016. Following on from his unsuccessful time in England, Inler would go on to complete seven seasons in the Turkish Super Lig, before hanging up his boots in 2024. He is currently the technical director for his former club Udinese as he begins life after football.<\/p>\n

Yohan Benalouane<\/h4>\n

Similar to Inler, Benalouane traded Italy for Leicester in the summer of 2015. The 28 year-old at the time had gained experience in both Italy and France, as he starred for Saint Etienne, Parma and Atalanta. He joined Ranieri’s side for a \u00a35m fee, but struggled to break into the strong starting eleven. Just four appearances came due to this, as Wes Morgan and Robert Huth became the established partnership.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0<\/strong>Leicester City Expected to Make Managerial Change With Potential Target Hinted At<\/a><\/p>\n

As a result, interest for a mid-season loan<\/a> came, but never transpired. Despite this, the Tunisian international stayed for another two seasons as a squad player, and even started a Champions League quarter-final. He later moved across the East Midlands to Nottingham Forest, before ending his career in the Italian third tier with Novara.<\/p>\n

Robert Huth<\/h4>\n

Veteran defender, Huth, joined the Foxes from Stoke City in the winter of 2015 on loan. His form was a major part of Pearson’s side’s improvements towards the end of the season. This led to the move becoming permanent, especially as Ranieri was the man who brought him to England back in 2001, whilst at Chelsea<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The deal worth just \u00a33m went on to be one of the all-time great signings due to Huth’s integral role in the title win. The German played the third most amount of minutes, scored three goals, and almost helped Kasper Schmeichel to a Golden Glove. Moreover, a stunning brace away at the Etihad, against second-place Manchester City was a standout performance.<\/p>\n

The following campaign, the Leicester backline remained strong in Europe. They didn’t concede a goal in the four opening Champions League games, and managed to reach the quarter-finals. This was the last of Huth’s playing career as injuries left him sidelined for the 2017\/18 season, before retiring in January 2019. He has since worked for the club as loans manager, whilst also working as a pundit.<\/p>\n

Christian Fuchs<\/h4>\n

Austrian left-back, Fuchs, was another key component of the title-winning team. After moving around Austria, he eventually arrived in Germany, where he settled for seven years. Time with Mainz, Schalke and Bochum<\/a> set the then 29-year-old up to be the club’s first-choice left-back.<\/p>\n

The free transfer during the 2015 transfer window proved to be another stellar bit of business from the club. He went on to play 32 games during the season, whilst accumulating over 2700 minutes. Furthermore, his four assists along the way were another strong point, especially given the fact that it was his pass that led to Jamie Vardy’s record-breaking eleventh goal in successive games.<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/strong>Leicester City Academy: Stars Poised for Breakthrough<\/a><\/p>\n

After the remarkable 2016 campaign, Fuchs remained in the squad for five more years. His 2016\/17 season stood out, as he played more minutes than any ever player within the squad, and was able to amass a tally of two goals and five assists. Unfortunately this form didn’t last as in the following four seasons he never played more than 30 games. Since his time with Leicester, he moved to Charlotte FC for a season, where he still is as an assistant to the former Foxes’ manager Dean Smith.<\/p>\n

Nathan Dyer<\/h4>\n

An unlikely hero from Ranieri’s side and Swansea legend, Dyer joined the club on a season-long loan. The winger arrived at the King Power Stadium on deadline day due to falling out of favour with Gary Monk. The signings of Jefferson Montero and Andre Ayew signalled the issue, especially as he made just one appearance before moving.<\/p>\n

His time in Royal Blue, despite being short, proved to be memorable due to a debut goal. Ranieri’s side were trailing two goals to nil by the 70th minute mark versus Aston Villa, but a dramatic comeback saw Dyer find a 89th-minute winner to earn all three points. This was his one and only goal that season in 12 appearances, but the importance can’t be understated as it helped build momentum and remain in contention for the title.<\/p>\n

After winning the Premier League, he returned back to Swansea. His tenure in Wales continued for another four seasons before finishing his career in 2021.<\/p>\n

Outgoings<\/h3>\n

Outgoings also played a part in the success. Anthony Knockaert and Esteban Cambiasso both left for free, whilst strikers Chris Wood and David Nugent both moved back to the Championship. Loans for younger players such as Ben Chilwell and Tom Lawrence were also arranged during the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 2015, Leicester City were coming off the back of “the great escape”. The Foxes had been bottom of the table until as late as matchday 32, and were there for over four months. However, a late run of form, which included just one defeat in their last nine games, led to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5391,"featured_media":656147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,33,32,3],"tags":[173],"class_list":["post-656099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leicester-city","category-championship","category-league-football","category-premier-league","tag-leicester-city"],"modified_by":"Henry Chung, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656099"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":656148,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656099\/revisions\/656148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}