Enzo Maresca recently guided Leicester City to a return to the English Premier League just a year after relegation

The Italian manager successfully guided the Foxes back to the Premier League after just a year following their unexpected relegation from top-flight football.

Maresca emphasized the need for Leicester City to compete strongly and avoid another surprise relegation in the upcoming season, highlighting the importance of bolstering their squad.

“The Championship is very tough and very long, and any team can beat any team,

“But also the Premier League is difficult and we need to be ready and we need to compete. For sure we need to do things in terms of the squad, no doubt” Maresca stated, as quoted by Leicester Mercury.

Two Nigerian players in the club, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi, have contracts expiring at the end of the season, with no indication of the club renewing Iheanacho’s contract.

Ndidi has reportedly attracted interest from La Liga sides Sevilla and Barcelona, as well as Turkish side Galatasaray, due to his impressive performances for the Foxes.

However, Maresca expressed a willingness to part ways with these key players for financial reasons, as long as the club can bring in suitable replacements.

The Italian gaffer added: “I don’t care about this (selling players for financial reasons). If we lose important players, it’s important that we bring in important players. It’s not a problem if we need to sell players to solve any problems. But it’s important that we can then bring players in.

“We need to be competitive. I don’t want to be, this time next year, where we were a year ago. This has to be the main focus.”

Iheanacho has been linked with a move to join Aston Villa as a free agent, while Crystal Palace and Everton have also shown interest in signing the Nigerian attacker.