Marc Albrighton Leicester City
There are no limits to the success Leicester City can achieve, winger Marc Albrighton said after signing a new three-year contract with the club. The fan favourite has ended talk of a move to Burnley by penning fresh terms at the King Power Stadium, a deal to 2024 set to take him to a decade with City. When Albrighton arrived on a free transfer from Aston Villa in 2014, he joined an ambitious side but one that had only just been promoted from the Championship. Now, he is turning out as a Premier League and FA Cup winner for a squad that can attract “incredible” players. While Burnley had sensed an opportunity to lure the 31-year-old to Turf Moor as he entered the final year of his previous deal, Albrighton has chosen to stick around, feeling confident that more success is on the way.
Marc Albrighton said: “It’s a fantastic club, the people here, where the club’s going, the direction that they’re going in, it’s great to be a part of. It’s a club that I’ve really settled into. I’ve got a good relationship with the fans. The people here are great. Whether it’s the staff around the training ground, the stadium or the players, the management, coaching staff, I just really enjoy coming to work every day at the training ground. I like coming in and working hard and feeling like I’ve done something in that day and, to be doing it at the level that we are competing, is a dream for me. Obviously, I have always been the type of person and player that wants to establish himself at a club and stay there instead of flitting between different clubs and travelling to different places. I’ve settled in here so it’s great and I’m really enjoying it. I think in all areas, there’s improvement. On the pitch, the players that we’re recruiting now are incredible players and they’re taking us in the right direction on the pitch. And then everything off the pitch… the training ground, the facilities that we’ve got now, they’re some of the best in the world. So if we’re going to keep improving and keep heading in that way, there’s no limit for this football club. There’s still so much more to come out of this squad and so much more progression. Everybody’s doing the right things to make that happen.”
City manager Brendan Rodgers had wanted to keep Albrighton, not only for his versatility – the title-winner able to play as a winger or a wing-back – but because of his professionalism and reliability. Rodgers needed role models around after losing Wes Morgan and Christian Fuchs this summer, while Albrighton is always there for the boss to turn to, and he was the only outfield player to feature in every matchday squad last season. The wide-man is also a big fan of his manager.
Marc Albrighton said: “I’ve said to people since he’s come in, he’s the best manager that I’ve worked for. His attention to detail is absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it before. All the lads would say the same. Whether it’s the coaching side, or the man management side, he’s spot on. It’s great to have him at the helm and I think, under him, we’ve already showed last year, we can go and win trophies and hopefully there’s going to be more where that came from.”
