Brendan Rodgers gives warning over Leicester City squad quality ahead of transfer 'recycling'

Leicester City need a quick return to Europe if they want to build and maintain a squad where the quality runs deep, manager Brendan Rodgers has suggested.

City will only compete in domestic competitions next season after missing out on European qualification for the first time in three years. They finished four points shy of Conference League qualifiers West Ham in the Premier League table.

Rodgers has said there will be a “recycling” of the City squad this summer, the manager feeling a revamp is needed to reinvigorate his side. While the club will target quality replacements, the manager has said that keeping top-level back-up players happy is very difficult when there is no European football in the schedule. But if it’s only one season away, they may cope.

Speaking in his final press conference of the season, Rodgers said: “Quality is always important, that’s the key. It’s never necessarily been about the numbers. We’ve been short in our squad this season in certain areas. But still, it’s about quality.

“It is very difficult for a club like ourselves to carry two top-level players in a position when you’ve no European football. It’s very difficult to do that for a period of time, keeping them happy.

“Come the summer, we’ll have been three-and-a-half years together. There’s going to be a natural change and recycling of our squad. The ambition is still the same, to disrupt the market.”

With the season finishing less than a fortnight ago, players and staff are still on holiday, unless they are in international action. But that does not really mean time off for Rodgers.

He said: “You go away but you’re always working. You can have a period of rest, of course, but I’ll always be on the phone if I’m away, there’s a