Leicester City have endured a decent opening period to the 2025/26 Championship season but would’ve expected to be closer to the summit of the table at this stage.
The Foxes became the first Premier League team to lose eight consecutive top-flight fixtures without netting a single goal last season, resulting in a frustrating drop back into the Championship just one year after lifting the second-division crown.
Marti Cifuentes was appointed as the figure to guide Leicester forward this term, and there have been some encouraging glimpses under the Spaniard’s stewardship.
The King Power Stadium side currently occupy 10th place in the Championship after 12 games, which, notably, is the best standing among all three clubs relegated from the Premier League.
Leicester have secured points in 9 of their opening 12 matches, but a trend of drawing more than winning has slowed their progress up the standings.
The Foxes are already trailing leaders Coventry City by 11 points, a deficit that has widened considerably recently due to successive losses to Hull City and Millwall.
In fact, Cifuentes’ team has only registered one victory in their last eight league outings, underlining just how much they are struggling to be clinical in matches, which has in turn damaged their hopes of automatic promotion.
Despite this rough spell, there has been a bright spot in Leicester City’s season so far, coming directly at the cost of one of their fellow relegated clubs.
Leicester City have benefited from the Kasey McAteer move:
Just like Leicester, Ipswich Town returned to the Championship after a frustrating failure to hold their ground in the Premier League.
The Tractor Boys dipped into the market ahead of the 2025/26 season to strengthen their squad for a promotion push, with Kasey McAteer signed from the Foxes for a significant £12 million.
McAteer rose through the Leicester academy and made 18 Premier League appearances last season before featuring twice in the Championship for the Foxes earlier this term.
Given the 23-year-old’s massive potential and obvious quality, Ipswich’s move was viewed as a major coup, especially as it involved them acquiring one of their potential challengers’ academy talents.
However, McAteer has struggled to find his rhythm at Portman Road. He has featured just six times in the Championship and is yet to produce a goal contribution for Kieran McKenna’s men.
With attackers like Sindre Egeli, Jaden Philogene, and Jack Clarke all capable of playing on the right wing, it currently seems unlikely that the former Leicester youngster will easily break into the Ipswich starting XI.
The Foxes will be pleased that they were able to command £12m for McAteer and that he hasn’t made an impactful start at Portman Road so far.
Even though this campaign hasn’t been perfect for Leicester, they can take comfort in not having to watch one of their former academy products fire a rival toward the top of the Championship — a notable consolation.
There’s still time for Kasey McAteer to make his mark:
Although McAteer’s time at Ipswich hasn’t had the smoothest start, there is still plenty of opportunity for him to turn things around.
At just 23, the forward is still growing and evolving as a player — a challenge made tougher when adapting to a new club where several others compete for your role.
McKenna and his staff clearly admire his potential — especially after outlaying £12 million to secure him — suggesting they’ll likely give him enough time to adapt and prove his value.
So, McAteer shouldn’t stress over an immediate breakthrough and instead focus on gradually settling at Portman Road, showing over time that he has what it takes to be a regular starter on the right flank.