Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit drops big Leicester City transfer warning as EFL return likely looms | OneFootball

Don Goodman spoke exclusively to Football League World about where it has all gone wrong for relegation-bound Leicester City this season

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has called out Leicester City's "bad" transfer policy, which he believes requires a shift in thinking if the Foxes are to bounce back from the Championship at the first time of asking as relegation edges ever closer.

Leicester lifted the Championship title under Enzo Maresca last term with a 97-point haul, beating off formidable competition from the likes of Ipswich Town and Leeds United.

However, Maresca's summer exit to Chelsea left the Foxes on the back-foot before their Premier League campaign had begun. Former Swansea City and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper stepped in to replace Maresca but did not last long before being relieved of his duties, though there was skepticism about what the Welshman could even get out of the squad.

That's less of a slight on Cooper and more towards a transfer policy which has been widely lamented, with Leicester opting against too many changes and additions to the squad that gained promotion despite the step-up in division.

Summer signings such as Bobby Decordova-Reid, Oliver Skipp and Bilal El Khannouss have failed to deliver the desired impact, and the Foxes are now bracing for a swift return to English football's second-tier.

Leicester have won just four times all season, collecting a meager 17 points. With only nine games to spare of the current campaign, Ruud Van Nistelrooy's side are nine points shy of 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers and are poised to head straight back down to the Championship alongside Southampton and Ipswich, both of whom accompanied them in promotion last time out.

Don Goodman issues big Leicester City transfer warning

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman has identified the club's recruitment approach as a driving force behind their impending relegation out of the Premier League.

The pundit covered Leicester's 3-0 home loss to Manchester United on Sunday evening - their fifth straight league defeat - and was alarmed by just how many of the starting players had been with the Foxes last term, believing that to signify a poor transfer policy by the club.

Now, he has warned that the policy must improve if Leicester are to immediately return to the Premier League next season, once relegation is mathematically confirmed.

"It really does look inevitable that Leicester will be a Championship club next season," Goodman told FLW.

"They're breaking records for them for all the wrong reasons unfortunately, in terms of losing runs and certainly losing runs without scoring a goal. I think they're up to seven now.

"I did their game against Manchester United on Sunday, so I had a look at the transfers and the policy. It hasn't worked out, I think 10 of the 11 that started against United were Leicester players last season, albeit two of them were out on loan [Boubakary Soumare and Victor Kristiansen].

"That tells you the transfer policy has been bad and hasn't worked. There will be more upheaval and that transfer policy is going to be what defines how successful or not they are at getting back to the Premier League at the first attempt next season.

"There's an awful lot of upheaval.

We don't know if Ruud Van Nistelrooy will remain, it's going to be a fascinating watch from the outside looking in to see what Leicester do."

Leicester City must conduct summer squad upheaval

Relegation will hand Leicester the opportunity to clear house, shift a number of high earners and conduct a squad rebuild, which is very much-needed going off this season's evidence.

Leicester's squad has an average age of 26.3, and they could benefit from trimming that down. More alarming, though, is the Foxes's wage bill.

As per Capology, a site which provides estimated figures on player salaries, Leicester's annual wage bill sits at £65,676,000. Of course, the Foxes have seen little return from significant salary investment and are listed as spending more money on wages than the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford, Bournemouth and third-placed Forest.

That simply isn't going to be sustainable in the Championship and many big earners simply have not justified their earnings this term, meaning a significant rebuild only feels necessary at this stage.