How Leicester City could benefit from second 'healthy refresh' off the pitch this summer

Much has been made of Brendan Rodgers' calls for a "healthy refresh" of his squad this summer.

The City manager wants five or six new players through the door during the transfer window, with a centre-back, a winger and a central midfielder topping the priority list. While recruitment plans will already be in place for the summer, and maybe even January, the club are still without a Head of Recruitment.

Lee Congerton joined Serie A side Atalanta in a senior role last month, with City currently using a top head-hunting agency to help them fill the vacancy. The club are understood to be interested in candidates currently at other clubs.

The scouting and recruitment department is already strong and it would only need adding to rather than being chopped and changed. The standout name the club should be looking at is Aston Villa head of recruitment Rob Mackenzie. The Yorkshireman is no stranger to life on Filbert Way.

Mackenzie joined City as a performance analyst back in 2009 and worked his way up to become Head of Technical Scouting. He left the club in February 2015 to join Tottenham as their Head of Player Identification.

After 18 months in north London, Mackenzie has gone on to lead the recruitment departments of Derby County, OH Leuven and now Aston Villa. His experience, which includes a PhD from Loughborough University, makes him the standout candidate Leicester should be looking at.

He already has experience of working for the club, with many of the same scouts and analysts still in place from his time at the club. The time he spent at OH Leuven ended amicably and shows he is willing to work for King Power once again.

An interesting argument is whether Mackenzie would be taking a forward step by leaving the