Leicester City are preparing for life in League One, but they could re-sign an ‘exciting’ forward after his fantastic 2025/2026 campaign.
Foxes poised for vital summer after second successive relegation
10 years ago, Leicester were Premier League champions. Today, they are preparing for third tier football.
The speed of the fall is almost incomprehensible — two successive relegations, a six-point EFL deduction for financial breaches, a fanbase at breaking point and a chairman who issued a public apology on the night the worst was confirmed.
A 2-2 draw with Hull City on April 22 sealed their fate, making Leicester only the fifth club in history to suffer back-to-back relegations to the third tier.
It was a night of protests outside the King Power Stadium, with supporters chanting “Get Out of Our Club” at chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who later issued a statement acknowledging there were “no excuses” for what had unfolded.
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He’s emerging as a serious contender.
Manager Gary Rowett, who is expected to be replaced this summer, was equally apologetic.
The statistics were damning throughout.
Leicester won just one of their last 18 Championship games before being officially relegated, with Jordan James the only player to reach double figures for goals across the entire campaign.
The six-point deduction for financial breaches in February only accelerated what had been coming for some time.
Now the rebuild begins in earnest.
Rowett has called on the hierarchy to make “big decisions,” and with League One football confirmed, the recruitment approach must start from scratch.
It is against that backdrop that a name with personal history at the club has emerged as a genuine summer target.
Leicester could re-sign Tyrese Shade after stellar Burton Albion season
Tyrese Shade, the 25-year-old forward who spent five years in Leicester’s academy, could be set for a homecoming.
The Birmingham-born attacker — who represents St Kitts and Nevis internationally — has enjoyed a breakout season at Burton Albion after arriving from non-league Eastleigh last summer.
His 14 goals in all competitions, including an FA Cup hat-trick against Brackley and a brace against promotion-chasing Stockport, turned heads across the division and Burton turned down a bid in excess of £1 million in January to keep him.
That valuation will only have risen since.
It was the Brackley hat-trick, coming back in December, that first put the wider game on notice. And it was his manager’s reaction that told you everything about the player’s quality and character.
“Tyrese is exciting, he’s got bags of potential. I like watching him play,” said Burton boss Gary Bowyer.
“He’s got a swagger that is not an arrogance, but a confidence in his ability. He’s got the ability to go past people, and we’ve seen that tonight. I’m delighted for him with his first career hat-trick.
“He’s come from the National League and straight into playing a lot of League One football – perhaps more than we thought he would initially.”
Bowyer has since confirmed publicly that he does not expect Shade to be at the Pirelli Stadium next season, acknowledging the summer will bring inevitable interest.
SportsBoom claim that Leicester are among the clubs looking to act on that, with the Foxes understood to be eyeing a move for their former academy man.
Shade’s versatility only adds to his appeal.
Primarily a winger, he has demonstrated this season that he can lead the line convincingly as a centre-forward — a dual capability that would give Leicester options.
Birmingham City, his hometown club, are also monitoring his progress closely, and will push Leicester for his signature.
For a player who was in non-league football barely 12 months ago, it would be quite the journey to return to Leicester.
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He’s a pretty solid candidate.
