Sports Poets Society

16 May 2025 - Leicester Mercury By JORDAN BLACKWELL jordan.blackwell@reachplc.com @jrdnblackwell SEAN Dyche is not actively seeking a return to management but could be swayed if the right job comes up, he has said amid links to Leicester City. Reports at the weekend named Dyche as a frontrunner to succeed Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose future at the King Power Stadium is in doubt. Dyche has been out of work since being sacked by Everton in the winter , and said he turned down opportunities in the immediate aftermath of leaving Goodison Park. But even after a few months out of the game, Dyche says he’s not looking to make a comeback right now. The 53-year-old has, in the past, been highly regarded at City for the work he did at Burnley, and he was on the shortlist to replace Craig Shakespeare at the King Power Stadium in 2017. Interviewed on Gary Neville’s The Overlap podcast, Dyche was asked if he was looking to return to management. “ Not at the moment. The timing is wrong anyway ,” he s...

PLUMB IMAGES/LCFC/GETTY IMAGES  16 May 2025 - Leicester Mercury TEEN STRIKER TIPPED AS A LEICESTER City’s number nine shirt will bear JamieVardy’s name for the final time this weekend, and the search for his successor should already be under way, writes Jordan Blackwell. Beyond ensuring they have the right manager in place, the biggest task City face this summer is finding a new striker who can deliver goals. It does not seem that Patson Daka , for all his effort, will be able to deliver the consistency and level of finishing quality that City need up front. He may leave this summer too. Jordan Ayew may stay, and he could play at the top of the pitch, but he would be a target man to build off, not a goal-getter. But what about Jake Evans ? If there’s an heir to Vardy’s throne inside the club, the 16-year-old, left, feels the most worthy of such a grand title. But it would also feel unfair to put that weight on the shoulders of someone so young. Certainly, Evans is not yet in a pos...

PLUMB IMAGES/LCFC/GETTY IMAGES TERRORISING THE NEIGHBOURS:  Jamie Vardy in action against Nottingham Forest last weekend STRIKER APPEARS TO RULE OUT JOINING WREXHAM IN CHAMPIONSHIP 16 May 2025 - Leicester Mercury By JORDAN BLACKWELL  jordan.blackwell@reachplc.com  @jrdnblackwell  JAMIE Vardy does not know where his future will take him – but the Leicester City icon has implied he won’t be joining a Championship rival next season. Vardy plays his last City match on Sunday at home to Ipswich, with no plans for him to feature against Bournemouth on the Premier League’s final weekend. But while it’s the end of his time at City, it’s not the end of his career. Vardy, now 38, has no intention of retiring. He says where he goes next cannot be predicted, but it seems he won’t be playing against City next term, as he is setting his sights on playing in a top-tier division. That would rule out a move to Hollywood-backed Wrexham, who return to the Championship next term and are...

ZAC GOODWIN/PA  CITY OPINION JUDGING ROUTE TO DELIVER 14 May 2025 - Leicester Mercury By JORDAN BLACKWELL  jordan.blackwell@reachplc.com  @jrdnblackwell IT was nearly eight years ago that Sean Dyche first emerged as a contender for the Leicester City manager’s job and now he’s being linked again. Admired for his work at Burnley, Dyche was on City’s shortlist to replace Craig Shakespeare in 2017 . The club ultimately went for Claude Puel and so started a process of moving away from the counter-attacking game that had led them to their glorious Premier League title and towards a more fashionable brand of football. From there, for the majority of the next eight years, City fans mostly saw their team look to keep control of the ball, with Enzo Maresca taking that to an extreme degree. The idea of appointing a manager like Dyche, below, became to feel like a backwards step. City had moved on and the former Burnley boss no longer fit with what they were looking for. But maybe ...

PA LOAN STARS: Sheffield United’s Hamza Choudhury  and Will Alves of Cardiff City BLADES MAY SIGN CHOUDHURY IF THEY RETURN TO PREMIER LEAGUE Jordan Blackwell  14 May 2025 - Leicester Mercury SHEFFIELD United are 90 minutes away from the Premier League with their success potentially leading to a Leicester City windfall, writes Jordan Blackwell. The Blades beat Bristol City 3-0 in the play-off semi-final second leg on Monday night to earn a 6-0 aggregate victory and comfortably book their place at Wembley. City loanee Hamza Choudhury played 90 minutes for Sheffield United at right-back as they again kept a clean sheet and he will be favourite to start the final. If Sheffield United are triumphant, it perhaps makes a permanent move for the City academy graduate more likely. Playing as a defensive midfielder or as a right-back, Choudhury has made 18 appearances since joining the Blades on loan in January, only missing one game. He has done what he was brought in to do and has br...