'Leicester City progress can persuade stars to stay'

Omnisports

March 22, 2016 2:59 AM

Leicester City director of football Jon Rudkin hopes the club's progress will encourage their star players to remain at the King Power Stadium.

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Leicester City director of football Jon Rudkin hopes the club's progress will encourage their star players to remain at the King Power Stadium at the end of the season.

Star turns from the likes of N'Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy have catapulted the pre-season relegation candidates to the top of the Premier League with only seven matches remaining.

However, their impressive form has led to speculation that some of Europe's biggest clubs will attempt to lure them from Leicester once the transfer window re-opens.

Rudkin, though, hopes the dramatic strides the club have taken since winning promotion from the Championship in 2014 will persuade key players to stay.

"You don't really know what to expect in the summer, but I think everyone can demonstrate where Leicester City is going as a football club," he told Omnisport after the Foxes were unveiled as participants in the International Champions Cup along with the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

"The foundation we are building on is a very bright one and I'm sure we will continue to build on that going into next season.

"It is a nice invitation for us to be invited to such a prestigious tournament and I think that's recognition to the hard work the players and football club have done this season.

"We are thoroughly looking forward to it and to play in the United States is a real added bonus for us."

Rudkin was also asked if the prospect of Champions League football and the Premier League's lucrative television contract could prompt Leicester to spend big to preserve their status near the top-flight summit.

"That's something - hopefully if we attain that position - for us to look at, but I think the squad has proven now that they have been able to compete at this level," he said.

"So we look forward to seeing where we finish and take stock of that in the summer.

"We set out at the beginning of the season our first objective was to retain Premier League status for the following season and once we attained that from Christmas we have really taken it game by game and looked to go as far as we can.

"We have got a number of good players that collectively worked very, very hard together and that unit of a group has really played a significant part of what we have achieved this season so far.

"We have seven games remaining, a lot of hard work and a very difficult game against Southampton next. We are looking forward to it and look forward to seeing how far we can keep it going for."

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