danny simpson Leicester City
Leicester City title-winner Danny Simpson has praised the club’s generosity for allowing him to train at Belvoir Drive while he searches for a new home. Simpson has been a free agent since leaving Huddersfield in June, nine months after he joined the Terriers following his release by City. But rather than train on his own in his bid to find a new club, Simpson has been working alongside City’s Under-23s, playing in friendlies for Steve Beaglehole’s side.
Danny Simpson said “I was at Leicester for five years and have a great relationship with the club, not just with the players but all the staff, Even now, four years after winning the Premier League, all the lads from that team remain really close and look out for each other. We’re like a family and went through so much together, with the incredible high of 2016 and then the devastating low of losing Vichai [Srivaddhanaprabha] in 2018. We’re in a WhatsApp group and the lads are always asking, ‘How you doing, Simmo? Hope you get sorted soon.’ Leicester understand my situation and have been fantastic in letting me train with them while I look for a new club. There is only so much training you can do with a fitness coach and nothing can replicate training with the lads, doing football drills and getting your touch back. At the moment, the market is pretty slow so it’s about staying fit and waiting for the right opportunity. I still have the fire, hunger and desire in me to achieve more in a game that I love, I still believe I can play in the Premier League. Hopefully the market starts moving and there is a right fit for me. If I do join a Championship club then I would like it to be with a team with aspirations to win promotion to the Premier League. I’ve done it three times, twice as a title winner and once via the play-offs, and I want to do it four times. There is no better feeling in football than achieving something with your team-mates. Even last season, despite how it ended, I played my part in keeping Huddersfield in the Championship and I helped the younger lads there too. I still want to achieve more before I retire. I just need to stay patient.”
