ClaphamFox

I sense there’s a growing view at the club that BEK might not be going anywhere…

The Mercury has confirmed the story is untrue - no embargo, no restrictions, no business plan. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/inside-king-power-stadium-leicester-10451529?utm_source=app

If the transfer embargo story is untrue, I’d expect the club to be briefing journalists accordingly - it’s not the kind of thing they’d want being reported about us if it wasn’t true. So if none of the reporters who follow us contradicts the story in the next day or so, it will suggest there is something in it…

Why would we loan him out?

Yep, there’s nothing more demoralising than a hard-fought away win and a clean sheet that positions you nicely just outside of the play-off zone…

Who told you about my penchant for almond croissants?

The Commission hasn’t sat yet. We won’t hear about the punishment for ages.

That’s an old article. He’s published a new one today but it doesn’t appear to be online.

Because they expected us to cave in and we haven’t, which had made them cross.

“Hey Leicester - will you sell us one of your best players for less than he’s worth?” ”No - you need to pay the price if you want him.” ”Ooh this is a bit tense. We’re gonna tell Sacha Tavolieri on you…”

Yes I know. Which is why this story makes no sense to me.

You may be right but why would the EFL and the club try to keep it a secret if we were under a business plan? The EFL would presumably like to show that they’re taking a tough line and the club would presumably want the fans to know why we’re not signing anybody. So why has neither announced it?

Begovic was on a free. The article says that “Leicester are not allowed to spend under their current restrictions”. So there’s no contradiction there.

Was that the case yesterday? Our performance lacked quality and we rode our luck, but I would not describe the way we defended the lead as ‘disinterested’ or showing ‘little effort’.

Yes, very odd. It would mean that all the journalists that follow us - Tanner, Dorsett, Percy, Jordan Blackwell, Owynn PA, etc - have all somehow missed it. It’s also odd that it’s not even really being reported as a story in its own right - just mentioned as context in a transfer rumour story. The way the story is written implies that the transfer embargo stuff is already widely known, which clearly isn’t the case.

Presumably he would only put his name to something he believes is true.

I think it means Nixon blocked the account that questioned the story. He tends to do that whenever anybody questions him.

That would make more sense but it’s not what the article says. It explicitly says that it’s an EFL-imposed embargo and is a punishment for past offences. But as you say, if that was the case it would have been widely reported. Somebody challenged Alan Nixon on twitter about the story and he appeared to double down, but in a slightly vague and offhand way:

The article does not suggest the embargo is self-imposed. It clearly states that it’s a formal sanction. For example: “The Foxes were deemed to have fallen foul of profit and sustainability rules, which prompted the punitive measures.” and “The plan will have to be approved by the EFL who have clamped down hard on Leicester for past offences - making it difficult for them to trade now.” This is all very odd. It implies we’ve been found guilty and sanctioned for past breaches, which, if true, has not been reported anywhere and is not even mentioned on the EFL website. Really weird.

Well that’s convinced me.

Not a chance they can afford him.

Somebody would need to come in with an eye-watering offer and there’s no sign of that happening yet.

They presumably expected us to open to negotiation on the fee, which we haven’t been. It’s now down to whether they’re willing to swallow their pride and cough up what we’re asking.

I’ve just watched the goals. He’s getting loads of stick for the fourth but I feel a bit sorry for him on that one. He clearly starts with the intention to catch it but then sort of collides with his defender and decides to punch/slap it out at the last second. Unfortunately it went straight to Caicedo…

Potter is a poor manager. In the not-too-distant future people will be scratching their heads and wondering why on earth he was ever rated.