Another Leicester City legend from that magically 2015/16 season has fallen. Longtime goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been sold to OGC Nice for only €1M.
I’m actually shocked that Leicester have sold their 11-year starter. Sure, Schmeichel may have lost some of his “star power” of 3-4 years ago, but his is still a serviceable goalkeeper for a Top-8 contender (which Leicester City are). Yet, I guess Brendan Rodgers didn’t think so. Now, it will be a battle of the Daniels as for who takes Schmeichel’s net as Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen are the only two other goalkeepers at the club.
Danny Ward, who spent the last few seasons as Schmeichel’s backup, is a solid goalie who has filled in great for the mini–Great Dane (he is Peter Schmeichel’s son after all) when called upon last season. However, that was only in one Premier League match. Nevertheless, Ward got his chance to shine while sharing the net with Wayne Hennessey for his national team, Wales, in the World Cup qualifiers.
Ward helped Wales reach their first World Cup appearance since 1958, though he did not play in the deciding win over Ukraine that cemented Wales place in Qatar. So, yes, Danny Ward is a serviceable option for the starting spot come Leicester City’s first Premier League matchup against Brentford, though I’m not sure if he is ready for 38 starts.
Then there is Daniel Iverson, the other Leicester City keeper option. He spent the last two seasons on loan at Preston North End, which had a mediocre 13th finish in the Championship in 2021/22. Despite allowing 56 goals, Iversen also had the second most saves in the league with 123 across 48 games. Judging by how leaky Preston’s defense was at times last season, I think Iversen has the ability to perform well at the Premier League level behind a solid defense.
What neither Ward nor Iversen bring is experience and leadership. Kasper Schmeichel was a part of the Leicester City team when they were promoted to the Premier League back in 2014/15 and has stayed the starting keeper since. Winning a league title, and FA Cup, and delivering numerous Top-6 finishes for the club that was a 2nd Division team only six years ago are remarkable achievements. However, where Schmeichel really excels is his leadership.
With the departure of club captain, Wes Morgan, last season, Schmeichel took up the captain’s armband after 10 years of being the vice-captain. He was the heart and soul of Leicester’s team last season, which proved to be one of the most challenging yet in the Premier League era for the club. Losing that kind of leadership will be almost impossible for Leicester to replace.
It sure will be different watching Leicester City games without seeing the mini-Great Dane standing tall in goal.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Licenses/Author: Антон Зайцев) (Wikimedia Commons: File:Kasper Schmeichel 2021 vs Spartak Moscow.jpg – Wikimedia Commons; Original Source-Soccer.ru.com)
