Oakley set for Exeter loan deal

Oakley: Led the Foxes to the 2008-09 League One title

Leicester City midfielder Matt Oakley is set for a loan move to League One outfit Exeter City.

The former Foxes' captain has seen his central midfield berth swamped with new talent since the arrival of Sven Goran Eriksson a year ago and, despite a run of form that saw him regain a position in the first team squad towards the end of last season, it now looks increasingly likely that his spell at the King Power Stadium is coming to a close.

Oakley, 34, has so far not made an appearance this term and, along with fellow ex-Derby County man Steve Howard, looks set for a temporary exit from the King Power Stadium.

Conclusions from the Riverside Stadium

Middlesbrough	0-0	Leicester City
	(HT 0-0)

Riverside Stadium, attendance: 16,883
BBC Match Report

Conclusions from the Cardiff City Stadium

Cardiff City	0-0	Leicester City
	(HT 0-0)

Cardiff City Stadium, attendance: 21,154
BBC Match Report

League Cup Conclusions from the Cardiff City Stadium

Cardiff City	2-2 AET	Leicester City
	(HT 1-1)
Cowie 33 Gestede 81		Howard 40 Dyer 66

Cardiff City win 7-6 on penalties

Cardiff City Stadium, attendance: 8,697
BBC Match Report

Bamba earns contract extension

Sol Bamba has agreed an extension to his contract with Leicester City that will see the defender remain at the King Power Stadium until June 2014.

There had been speculation over the summer linking the powerful centre half with a move to the Premier League but that never materialised and the Ivorian is delighted to be staying in the East Midlands.

Manager Sven Goran Eriksson, meanwhile, is clear of the importance of having players such as Bamba tied-down to long term deals with the club.

"He is an important player for us and he will continue to be important in to the future," said the Swede, "We believe that his current form this season has shown that he is getting better and better as a player. Sol is very strong and he is popular with everyone, so this is great for the Club."

The Foxes have also moved to sign former Luton Town youngster Michael Cain for a reported five-figure sum. Cain refused to sign on a professional basis with the Hatters as they failed to reach the Football League and is now hoping to reach the very top levels of English football at Filbert Way. 

Conclusions from Brighton & Hove Albion

Leicester City	1-0	Brighton & Hove Albion
	(HT 0-0)
Abe 46

King Power Stadium, attendance: 24,128
BBC Match Report

Foxes hit by improper conduct charge

Leicester City have been issued with a charge of failing to control their players following a brief fracas in the second half of Saturday's game against Barnsley.

The Football Association released a brief statement on their website detailing that both clubs will face disciplinary action if found guilty.

"Barnsley and Leicester City have been charged by The FA with failing to control their players during Saturday’s [10 September] fixture at Barnsley. Both clubs have until 4pm on 19 September 2011 to respond to the charge."

The charge - officially defined under FA rule E20 as "failure to ensure players conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrain from provocative behaviour" - appears a harsh one but is likely to incur a financial fine for both clubs.

In other news, the Foxes' game against Crystal Palace has been put back by a day in lieu of a fixture clash with the Leicester Tigers rugby team. The Foxes will now play the Eagles one day later than planned, at 3:00pm on Sunday, 20th November, allowing the egg-chasers to appear on television in their European cup game against Ulster at Welford Road on Saturday.

Conclusions from Oakwell

Barnsley	1-1	Leicester City
	(HT 1-0)
Butterfield 38		King 46

Oakwell, attendance: 10,862
BBC Match Report

Neville left "shattered" by transfer window

Andrew Neville has described this summer's transfer window as the most stressful he has ever experienced.

The Foxes' football director was present at the closing stages of negotiations for each of Leicester City's twelve signings, including the last-ditch effort to sign Jermaine Beckford from Everton. That deal, Neville revealed in an interview with the Leicester Mercury, was completed with just seconds to spare before the eleven o'clock deadline on August 31st.

"It was getting to the stage when it was a little bit fraught. The hours were ticking by and by the latter part of the afternoon we had actually agreed everything, by around about 7.30pm or 8pm. But with three hours to go, Jermaine was still in Liverpool.

"I think Jermaine actually arrived between 10pm and 10.30pm and there were a whole lot of documents to sign," said Neville, "He still had to reach an agreement with Everton over something, we had some paperwork to do with Everton, and Martyn Waghorn was waiting to go to Hull because we had agreed a loan deal for him, but what we couldn't do was sign those documents just in case there was a last minute hitch with Jermaine.

"We actually started to register Jermaine at 10.59pm and just before 11pm I sent the papers to the league and the FA for the Waghorn deal. Hull were doing a deal on the back of that, so Jay Simpson could join Millwall if they got Waghorn in."

Neville added that he feels very satisfied with progress at the club over the summer, with big-money signings such as Beckford and Matt Mills signalling a new future at the King Power Stadium.

Nonetheless pressure is mounting on Sven Goran Eriksson, with one newspaper claiming last week that the Foxes' manager has just five games to save his job. Despite that being a little premature, Leicester face an away trip to Barnsley tomorrow and Tykes' boss Keith Hill insists that the pressure is on Eriksson and his expensively-assembled team.

"The pressure is off us, it's all on Leicester," said Hill, "There's pressure on them to perform because they're expected to come here and turn us over, but we'll be giving it everything to ensure that doesn't happen."

The Oakwell outfit spent just £1 million, Hill aiming to keep Barnsley afloat in the Championship on less than ten per cent of the budget allocated to Eriksson this summer.

The Foxes will be expecting to see 2,300 fans travel to Oakwell despite a protest from some quarters at Barnsley's hike in admission prices that have seen a £13 increase since last season.

Logan requires surgery after clash

Long-serving: Logan played-on despite facial injuries

On-loan Foxes goalkeeper Conrad Logan will undergo surgery after he received substantial facial injuries whilst playing for Rotherham United against Swindon on Saturday.

The Irish keeper, the longest-serving on the books at the King Power Stadium, will undergo rhinoplasty and dental work for his injuries, sustained after a clash in the first minute involving Swindon duo Michael Raynes and Lukas Magera. Logan completed the full ninety minutes of the fixture but now faces a wait on the sideline following his surgery.

"He'll have his nose reset and some work done on his teeth," said Millers' boss Andy Scott, "Half were missing or in the wrong place."

Logan is on loan at Rotherham in a six-month deal. He has enjoyed spells at Bristol Rovers, Stockport County, Luton Town and Boston United since agreeing professional terms with the Foxes in 2001. The 25-year-old has made 23 appearances for Leicester City's senior side.

Eriksson: "I'm happy with my squad"

Sven Goran Eriksson has said he is happy with his business in this summer's transfer market and is to settle on the squad he has assembled.

Last season Eriksson was highly active in the loan market - he chose not to purchase in the January transfer window where fees are often inflated - but he is reluctant to introduce any new players now that he has assembled a squad of his choosing.

With David Nugent sidelined for up to five weeks with a torn hamstring, the Swede might have been tempted to bring in one final signing for a temporary spell at the King Power Stadium. However Eriksson rubbished those claims.

"I don't think we are going to do anything more," insisted the Foxes manager, "If something very, very good appears then maybe, but at this moment we are not looking at anything and I am very happy with my squad."

He also offered words of encouragement to Martyn Waghorn, who left Leicester yesterday to rejoin former manager Nigel Pearson at Hull City in a six-month loan deal.

"He wanted to play more football than he has done lately and we want him to play because we believe he is a good striker," said Eriksson, "Unfortunately, he has played too little here. But he is young and a big talent, and it will be good for him to be playing at Hull."

Waghorn capped the news of his loan move by scoring on his debut for England's under-21s in their 6-0 victory over Azerbaijan last night.

Reflections on the 2011 summer transfer window

Sven Goran Eriksson will lead his team out against Barnsley with the most expensively-assembled Leicester City team of all time. The Swede, armed with cash from the King Power owners of the football club, was given a near-unlimited budget and has spent widely since making his first signing, snatching the promising Lee Peltier on a three-year deal in the middle of June.

But what of Eriksson's spending tactics? Has he got value for money? The Foxes' manager has, after all, spent an unprecedented amount for a Championship club, not including huge wages (rumours of some £25,000 per week being offered to the likes of Matt Mills are not completely unfounded).

Cream of the crop: Leicester City's twelve new signings of the summer of 2011