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Marti Cifuentes is facing a headache before a ball has even been kicked for Leicester City.
Cifuentes is trying to win Leicester over from the get-go and seems to be ticking all the right boxes so far.
Leicester’s players look genuinely happier under Cifuentes and the Catalonian has enjoyed a relatively strong start to pre-season.
However, with a bloated squad of 35 players, several of which are under the age of 21, the Foxes boss must leave some players out of his plans altogether to comply with EFL squad registration rules.
So, with that, here are five players that could be at risk of missing out on the squad.
Woyo Coulibaly
File Woyo Coulibaly as one of the most unforgettable transfers of all time.
The defender was Ruud van Nistelrooy’s only signing in the January transfer window but hardly featured and has barely been seen during pre-season training.
It’s not Coulibaly’s fault that he’s been treated this way but his likely absence from the squad is a damning indictment of Leicester’s failures in the transfer window.
Harry Souttar
Harry Souttar was enjoying a resurgence in form on loan at Sheffield United last season before suffering a long-term injury.
Souttar is still recovering from this issue and is unlikely to be available until the end of 2025/start of next year.
The centre-back would’ve been a genuine shoo-in to feature for the club in the heart of defence but until he is fully recovered, it makes logical sense to keep him out of the squad.
Boubakary Soumare
Despite featuring heavily in pre-season, Boubakary Soumare is one of the many players who the Foxes will be hoping to get off the books.
Soumare is on high wages and didn’t stick around for the Championship season last time so there is no reason to imagine why he would want to do so again.
The Frenchman is one of many out of contract in 2026 so any fee they get for him is better than nothing.
Wanya Marcal
One of the players to come through the Leicester academy, Wanya Marcal is now 22 and therefore has to be registered as per EFL rules.
The wide positions have an embarrassment of riches in terms of talent with Stephy Mavididi, Abdul Fatawu, Jeremy Monga, Jake Evans and more.
Wanya Marcal has had a number of loan positions away from the club but never hit the ground running and will likely miss out.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid
Due to his Gold Cup participation with Jamaica, Bobby De Cordova-Reid has been granted extra time off before returning to the fold.
That could prove to be his Achilles heel though as he hasn’t had the chance to get up to speed with the new style of football and will be playing catch up on fitness too.
Cifuentes wants to play ‘fearless’ football and that doesn’t feel like it will suit Reid, who may find himself missing out on the squad.