The 2026–27 season is the 122nd season in the existence of Leicester City, and their second (non-consecutive) season in the third tier of English football. This season marked the club's first return to League One since the 2008–09 season following relegation from the Championship in the previous season. In addition to the domestic league, they will also compete in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, and the EFL Trophy. This season covers the latter period from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
Review
Background The 2025–26 campaign was a disastrous season for Leicester City, as they had been relegated from the EFL Championship, following a 2–2 home draw to Hull City on 21 April 2026.
They scored 58 goals all season, and conceded 68, which is the highest number of goals they have conceded in an EFL Championship season in their history. They finished with a goal difference of -10, which was the worst in their EFL Championship history. Leicester's defensive issues from the season prior had continued, with only 3 clean sheets at home and 4 clean sheets away. They became the 5th team after Swindon Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sunderland and Luton Town to suffer back-to-back relegations from the Premier League.
Leicester won twelve EFL Championship games in the 2025–26 season, drew 16, and lost 18, with a 6 point deduction imposed for breaching PSR rules during the 2023–24 season, relegating them on 46 points and finishing 23rd.
Pre-season
Prior to the season starting, Russell Martin was appointed as the new manager on 15 June 2026, signing a three-year contract.
Management team Position Name Manager Russell Martin Assistant manager Conor Hourihane First team coach Andy King Goalkeeping coach Tom Weal Fitness Coach Rhys Owen
Players Squad information Players and squad numbers last updated on 1 October 2026. Appearances include all competitions.Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Number Player Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Contract ends Signed from Appearances Goals Goalkeepers 1 Jakub Stolarczyk GK 2019 2027 Youth Academy 58 0 13 David Cornell GK 2026 2027 Southampton 0 0 21 Franco Ravizzoli GK 2026 2029 Blackpool 0 0 29 Alex McCarthy GK 2026 2028 Southampton 0 0 Defenders 2 Jayden Joseph RB 2024 2030 Youth Academy 0 0 4 Ben Nelson CB 2021 2027 Youth Academy 36 2 5 Caleb Okoli CB 2024 2029 Atalanta 54 2 15 Harry Souttar (c) CB 2023 2028 Stoke City 18 1 16 Warren O'Hora CB 2026 2029 Hibernian 0 0 18 Christian McFarlane LB 2026 2027 Manchester City (loan) 0 0 24 Ilari Kangasniemi CB 2026 2031 Inter Turku 0 0 26Woyo CoulibalyRB20252029 Parma50 32 Olabade Aluko RB 2025 – Youth Academy 11 0 33 Luke Thomas LB 2020 2029 Youth Academy 149 3 Midfielders 6 John Lundstram DM 2026 2028 Trabzonspor 0 0 8 Conor Chaplin AM 2026 2029 Ipswich Town 0 0 11 Liam Cullen AM / RM / CF 2026 2029 Swansea City 0 0 12 Will Smallbone CM 2026 2029 Southampton 0 0 20 Harry Howell AM/ RW 2026 2027 Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 0 0 25 Louis Page CM / AM 2025 – Youth Academy 21 0 27 Kamari Doyle AM 2026 2027 Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 0 0 36 Sammy Braybrooke CM 2022 2027 Youth Academy 1 0 37 Will Alves AM 2022 2028 Youth Academy 5 0 Attackers 7 Wes Burns RW 2026 2029 Ipswich Town 0 0 9 Admir Bristrić ST 2026 2030 Olimpija Ljubljana 0 0 14 Bobby De Cordova-Reid CF / LW 2024 2027 Fulham 63 7 17 Emil Riis ST 2026 2030 Bristol City 0 0 23 Tommy Watson LW 2026 2027 Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 0 0 Out on loan 10 Stephy Mavididi LW 2023 2028 Montpellier 126 23 Victor Kristiansen LB 2023 2028 Copenhagen 51 0 22 Oliver Skipp DM 2024 2029 Tottenham Hotspur 65 2 34 Michael Golding CM 2024 2028 Chelsea 1 0 61 Stevie Bausor GK 2025 – Youth Academy 0 0 65 Jake Evans ST / RW 2025 2029 Youth Academy 4 0
Transfers In Date Position Nationality Player From Fee Team Ref. 16 July 2026 CAM Conor Chaplin Ipswich Town Free First Team 16 July 2026 GK Alex McCarthy Southampton Free First Team 31 July 2026 FW Liam Cullen Swansea City Undisclosed First Team 6 August 2026 RW Wes Burns Ipswich Town Undisclosed First Team 10 August 2026 GK Franco Ravizzoli Blackpool Free First Team 11 August 2026 ST Admir Bristrić Olimpija Ljubljana Undisclosed First Team 26 August 2026 CB Ilari Kangasniemi Inter Turku Undisclosed First Team 1 September 2026 CF Emil Riis Bristol City Undisclosed First Team 1 September 2026 DM John Lundstram Trabzonspor Free First Team 2 September 2026 CB Warren O'Hora Hibernian Undisclosed First Team 18 September 2026 GK David Cornell Preston North End Free First Team 1 October 2026 CM Will Smallbone Southampton Free First Team
Out Date Position Nationality Player To Fee Team Ref. 30 June 2026 FW Jordan Ayew Sheffield United End of contract First team 30 June 2026 GK Asmir Begović End of contract First team 30 June 2026 CF Patson Daka Hamburger SV End of contract First team 30 June 2026 GK Jake Donohue Released Academy 30 June 2026 CAM Alfie Fisken Released Academy 30 June 2026 CB Jamaal Lascelles End of contract First team 30 June 2026 LB Jahmari Lindsay King's Lynn Town Released Academy 30 June 2026 RW Wanya Marçal Stevenage End of contract First team 30 June 2026 LW Laolu Omobolaji Released Academy 30 June 2026 CM Toby Onanaye South Shields Released Academy 30 June 2026 RB Ricardo Pereira End of contract First team 30 June 2026 CF Chris Popov Hartlepool United Released Academy 30 June 2026 RW Silko Thomas Wycombe Wanderers End of contract First team 1 July 2026 AM Bilal El Khannouss VfB Stuttgart £15,300,000 First Team 3 July 2026 DM Henry Cartwright Bradford City Undisclosed Academy 11 July 2026 LW Jeremy Monga Manchester City £10,000,000 First Team 15 July 2026 CF Amani Richards Barnsley Undisclosed Academy 15 July 2026 CDM Harry Winks Cagliari Undisclosed First Team 16 July 2026 CB Jannik Vestergaard Mutual Agreement First Team 21 July 2026 RW Abdul Fatawu Ipswich Town £20,000,000 First Team 8 August 2026 GK Fran Vieites Marítimo Mutual Agreement First Team 11 August 2026 CB Tom Wilson-Brown Stockport County Undisclosed First Team 21 August 2026 CF Nathan Opoku Northampton Town Undisclosed First Team 31 August 2026 DM Hamza Choudhury Sheffield United Undisclosed First Team 28 September 2026 CB Wout Faes Shabab Al Ahli Undisclosed First Team
Loaned in Date Position Player From Date until Ref. 29 July 2026 LB Christian McFarlane Manchester City End of Season 1 August 2026 LW Tommy Watson Brighton & Hove Albion End of Season 13 August 2026 CAM Harry Howell End of Season 1 September 2026 CAM Kamari Doyle End of Season
Loaned out Date Position Nat. Player To Date until Team Ref. 2 July 2026 CAM Logan Briggs Northampton Town End of Season Academy 13 July 2026 LB Victor Kristiansen Panathinaikos End of Season First team 4 August 2026 ST Kirsten Otchere Cheltenham Town End of Season Academy 10 August 2026 CF Jake Evans End of Season Academy 28 August 2026 CM Michael Golding Shrewsbury Town End of Season Academy 1 September 2026 LW Stephy Mavididi Watford End of Season First team 1 September 2026 CDM Oliver Skipp Charlton Athletic End of Season First team 3 September 2026 GK Stevie Bausor Slough Town 30 September 2026 Academy 11 September 2026 CB Bobby Amartey Sutton United 30 November 2026 Academy
Pre-season and friendlies On 12 June 2026, The Foxes announced two pre-season friendlies against Northampton Town and Burton Albion. Three days later, a visit to Bristol Rovers was confirmed. On 2 July 2026, The Foxes announced three more pre-season friendlies against Cádiz, Málaga and Genoa.
Competitions Overall record
League One
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Score overview OppositionHome scoreAway scoreAggregate scoreDoubleAFC Wimbledon26 December 202629 March 2027Barnsley17 April 20271–1Blackpool27 April 2027TBCBradford City14 November 202627 February 2027Bromley19 January 202720 October 2026Burton Albion1–213 March 2027Cambridge United8 May 20271 December 2026Doncaster Rovers17 October 202616 January 2027Huddersfield Town20 March 202721 November 2026Leyton Orient29 December 20263 April 2027Luton Town23 January 202724 October 2026Mansfield Town1 May 202728 November 2026Milton Keynes Dons6 February 20270–0Notts County6 March 20271–1Oxford United0–413 February 2027Peterborough United10 October 202624 April 2027Plymouth Argyle2–09 February 2027Reading9 January 202719 December 2026Sheffield Wednesday10 December 202610 April 2027Stevenage31 October 202630 January 2027Stockport County20 February 20274–3Wigan Athletic27 October 202613 April 2027Wycombe Wanderers26 March 20271 January 2027
Matches The fixtures for the 2026/27 season were released on Thursday 25 June 2026 at 12pm BST, and Leicester were scheduled to play Notts County on the opening weekend.
FA Cup
EFL Cup
Leicester were drawn at home to Northampton Town in the first round and away to Ipswich Town in the second round.
EFL Trophy
Group Stage
Leicester were drawn against Stevenage, Walsall and Fulham U21 into Southern Group B.
Statistics Appearances and goals
Players with no appearances are not included on the list; italics indicate a loaned in player
|colspan="14"|Out on loan:
|colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club permanently during the season:
Goalscorers
PlayerLeague OneFA CupEFL CupEFL TrophyTotal1=17FWEmil Riis200139FWAdmir Bristrić000333=11MFLiam Cullen2000223MFTommy Watson000225=2DFJayden Joseph100016MFJohn Lundstram100017MFWes Burns1000120MFHarry Howell1000137MFWill Alves100015DFCaleb Okoli0010132DFOlabade Aluko0010114FWBobby De Cordova-Reid00011Total902718
Assists
PlayerLeague OneFA CupEFL CupEFL TrophyTotal114FWBobby De Cordova-Reid00134225MFLouis Page300033=33DFLuke Thomas1010237MFWill Alves100125=36MFSammy Braybrooke1000115DFHarry Souttar00011Total602513
Clean sheets
PlayerLeague OneFA CupEFL CupEFL TrophyTotal11Jakub Stolarczyk10102Total10102
Disciplinary record
No. Pos. Nat. Player League One FA Cup EFL Cup EFL Trophy Total 2 DF Jayden Joseph100000000000100 7 MF Wes Burns000000100000100 11 MF Liam Cullen100000000000100 14 FW Bobby De Cordova-Reid100000100000200 15 DF Harry Souttar200000000000200 15 FW Emil Riis100000000000100 22 MF Oliver Skipp001000000000001 23 MF Tommy Watson000000100000100 25 MF Louis Page200000100000300 32 DF Olabade Aluko100000100000200 33 DF Luke Thomas100000000000100 36 MF Sammy Braybrooke200000100000300 37 MF Will Alves200000000000200Total 13010006000001901
References