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Leicester City most expensive signings - How Foxes spent £620 million on incoming transfers

Leicester City might not be a traditional Premier League heavyweight, but there's no denying they are one of the most iconic teams around in the league following their miraculous title run in 2015-16.

That Premier League title was very much the success of some incredibly shrewd transfer business, with players such as N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez arriving at the club on the cheap as relative unknowns.

Leicester have since been able to show a bit more ambition in the transfer market and they have not hesitated to spend big when they felt the opportunity was right.

The capture of Youri Tielemans was one such moment. The deal that saw them bring in Wesley Fofana was another.

But who have been their most expensive players ever and how much have they been spending on an annual basis this century?

Leicester City most expensive transfers by season

SEASON

MOST EXPENSIVE SIGNING

FEE

TOTAL SPENDING

2022/23

Wout Faes

£15.30M

£15.30M

2021/22

Patson Daka

£27M

£60.84M

2020/21

Wesley Fofana

£31.50

£53.46M

2019/20

Youri Tielemans

£40.50M

£93.87M

2018/19

James Maddison

£22.50M

£103.14M

2017/18

Kelechi Iheanacho

£24.93M

£75.46M

2016/17

Islam Slimani

£27.90M

£82.89M

2015/16

Shinji Okazaki

£9.90M

£44.91M

2014/15

Leandro Ulloa

£9.09M

£20.57M

2013/14

Riyad Mahrez

£450,000

£450,000

2012/13

Ritchie De Laet

£1.13M

£5.28M

2011/12

Matt Mills

£4.77M

£16.16M

2010/11

Martyn Waghorn

£3.24M

£4.94M

2009/10

Richie Wellens

£1.04M

£1.81M

2008/09

Aleksandar Tunchev

£900,000

£1.05M

2007/08

DJ Campbell

£2.84M

£7.79M

2006/07

None

Nil

Nil

2005/06

Iain Hume

£675,000

£1.44M

2004/05

Gareth Williams

£675,000

£1.96M

2003/04

Ben Thatcher

£405,000

£1.03M

2002/03

None

Nil

Nil

2001/02

James Scowcroft/Matthew Jones

£4.05M

£17.28M

2000/01

Gary Rowett

£4.05M

£10.53M

Total

£620.16M

*All stats via Transfermarkt

Leicester City top 10 most expensive player signings

  • Sadio Mane Liverpool Timothy Castagne Leicester City 2021-22Getty Images

    10Timothy Castagne | £18.81m | Atalanta | 2020

    After graduating from Genk's academy and making 80 senior appearances for the Belgian club, Castagne moved to Italian club Atalanta in 2017 for £5.85 million.

    In his three-year spell at Atalanta, Castagne made 75 appearances, scoring five goals and coming up with some impressive performances as a full-back.

    In 2020, Leicester came calling, signing him for £18.81m.

    Castagne scored his first goal on debut against West Bromwich Albion and has been an integral part of their first team.

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  • Çağlar SöyüncüGetty

    9Caglar Soyuncu | £18.89m | Freiburg | 2018

    Turkish centre-back Soyuncu started his professional journey with Altinordu in the Turkish second division.

    In 2016, while he was linked with top Turkish clubs, Soyuncu decided to move to the Bundesliga with Freiburg for £7.13 million.

    After just six months at the club, Soyuncu saw himself being linked with top clubs like Manchester City, Roma, Villarreal and Lille.

    The towering defender made 50 appearances in his two-year spell in Germany before Leicester snapped him up for £18.89m.

  • Ricardo Pereira Leicester City PSVGetty Images

    8Ricardo Pereira | £19.80m | Porto | 2018

    Pereira arrived at Leicester from Porto in the summer of 2018 for £19.80 million.

    The Portuguese full-back made his Premier League debut on August 10 in a 2-1 away defeat to Manchester United.

    Pereira scored his first goal for Leicester City on his birthday, netting in a 2-1 home defeat to Everton.

    At the end of his first season at the club, he was voted Leicester City's Player of the Season and the Players' Player of the Season.

    In February 2022, Pereira signed a contract extension with the Foxes keeping him at the club until 2026.

  • James Maddison Leicester 2022-23Getty

    7James Maddison | £22.50m | Norwich | 2018

    After featuring for Coventry, Norwich and Aberdeen, Maddison made the move to Leicester City in the summer of 2018 for a premium £22.50 million fee.

    The gifted attacking midfielder made an impressive start to his time with the Foxes, scoring in back-to-back Premier League games in August 2018.

    Over the years, Maddison went on to improve his technical prowess from set-pieces and came up with incredible performances, becoming one of Leicester's undisputed star men.

  • Kelechi Iheanacho Leicester 2021-22Getty

    6Kelechi Iheanacho | £24.93m | Manchester City | 2017

    A product of Manchester City's academy, Iheanacho was given his senior debut in the final minute of his team's 2-0 win against Watford at the Etihad Stadium.

    He scored his first goal on September 12, 2015, coming on as a substitute in the final minute against Crystal Palace and scoring the only goal of the game.

    Between 2015 to 2017, Iheanacho made 46 appearances for City, scoring 12 goals.

    Amid intense competition for places in City's squad, the Nigerian striker eventually decided to join Leicester City, who paid £24.93 million for his signature.

  • Leicester City and Zambia forward Patson Daka.Leicester.

    5Patson Daka | £27m | Salzburg | 2021

    After humble beginnings in his country Zambia, Daka joined RB Salzburg in Austria in 2017 for a £225,000 fee.

    In his first season at the club, he helped them win the UEFA Youth League, scoring two goals in two games.

    In November 2019, he became the first Zambian player to ever score in the Champions League group stages when he netted against Genk in the 2019-20 season.

    After 54 goals in 82 appearances for Salzburg, Leicester City had seen enough and signed him for £27 million in the summer of 2021.

  • HD Islam Slimani Leicester CityGetty Images

    4Islam Slimani | £27.90m | Sporting CP | 2016

    Leicester signed Islam Slimani for £27.90 million in the summer of 2016 after being newly crowned champions of England, making him their most expensive transfer ever at that time.

    He signed a five-year contract with the Foxes, making his debut in the UEFA Champions League in September 2016 as he played 62 minutes in a 3-0 win over Club Brugge.

    Three days later, he made his Premier League debut in a 3-0 win against Burnley in which he scored a brace.

    But Slimani then featured in the African Cup of nations for Algeria, suffering an injury which hampered his playing time at Leicester.

    He was loaned to Newcastle in the January transfer window of 2018, before being later loaned to Fenerbahce and Monaco.

    The Algerian then joined Lyon on a free transfer in 2021, before returning to Sporting Lisbon for six months and then joining Stade Brestois in France in August 2022.

  • Ayoze Perez Leicester Napoli Europa LeagueGetty Images

    3Ayoze Perez | £30.06m | Newcastle | 2019

    In 2014, Perez rejected interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Porto to join Newcastle United for £1.80 million.

    Since then, the Spaniard went on to make 179 appearances for the Magpies, scoring 42 goals, and sticking with the club despite them being relegated to the Championship, helping them return back to the top flight after one season.

    Leicester showed interest in signing the player and in the summer of 2019, they agreed to pay £30.06m for his signature.

    Perez scored his first goals as part of a hat-trick in October 2019, in a record-equaling 9-0 win against Southampton in the Premier League.

  • Wesley Fofana Leicester CityGetty

    2Wesley Fofana | £31.50m | Saint-Etienne | 2020

    After starting his career at Saint-Etienne in France, Fofana joined Leicester City in October 2020 for £31.50 million, signing a five-year contract.

    Fofana won the first honour of his career in England when he won the 2021 FA Cup final with Leicester and he later won the club's best Young Player of the Season award.

    The Frenchman broke his leg in a pre-season friendly against Villarreal in the summer of 2021, but after returning from this serious injury, Fofana performed extremely well for the Foxes, eventually leading to Chelsea signing him in the summer of 2022 for an eye-watering £72.36m.

  • Youri Tielemans Leicester 2022-23Getty Images

    1Youri Tielemans | £40.50m | Monaco | 2019

    In the summer transfer window in 2019, Leicester City splashed a club record £40.50 million for Tielemans, having initially signed him on loan from Monaco in January that year.

    In May 2021, Tielemans came up with his biggest moment in his Foxes career as he netted a thunderous strike against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final, helping them to their first ever FA Cup title.