Young, hungry and ambitious. The three buzzwords Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has used to describe his three new signings when talking to the press in the past week.
Richie De Laet and Matt James were signed from Manchester United for a reported £1m each, while striker Jamie Vardy was bought from Fleetwood for at least the same amount. Although early in the summer, Pearson's actions in the transfer market suggest that gone are the days of big names on high wages being signed, instead signing players who are excited to play on a regular basis.
This time last year, Leicester City fans were licking their lips as the likes of Michael Owen, David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves were linked with moves to Sven-Goran Eriksson's big spenders. Although those transfers never materialised, some big names on big wages did join the King Power Stadium twelve months ago.
Ghanaian right back John Pantsil, Swiss international Gelson Fernandes and Man City midfielder Michael Johnson were three of the bigger names to sign (although the latter two were on loan). Notably, all three were shown the exit when Nigel Pearson was reappointed. Although Pearson didn't have much time to bring in the players he wanted in the January transfer window, the signings he did make were a sign of things to come.
Wes Morgan was signed from Nottingham Forest to bolster up a leaky defence, while two more Man United youth products Danny Drinkwater and Ben Marshall were snapped up after both had had impressive loan spells at Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. All three had an impressive end to the season at Leicester, especially Marshall who has qucikly become a fans favourite.
Pearson appears to be building a squad of players with the desire to play football week in, week out instead of buying big names on high wages which Sven did last summer. De Laet has been on loan at several Football League clubs but hasn't played regularly, while James has only played 28 games of league football in his career. Vardy, meanwhile, hasn't played at Football League level but caught Pearson's eye after scoring 31 goals in 36 appearances for the Conference champions.
Norwich City are a fine example of how far young and hungry players can take you. Many pundits were writing off Norwich as they prepared for life back in the Premier League. Manager Paul Lambert hadn't made any big name signings, instead opting for players with barely any top flight experience from the lower leagues. But he easily guided the club to safety, surprising many teams and pundits along the way.
Also worth noting are the six players released by the club this week, many of whom were on high wages. Darius Vassell was the most high profile of the players released, while Steve Howard and Matt Oakley were also reportedly on big wages plus all three are on the wrong side of 30.
Alan Hansen famously once said 'you can't win anything with kids', but with the experience of Sean St.Ledger, Morgan, and Richie Wellens and the exciting younger players Pearson is looking for, hopefully that is a recipe for success.
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