Double transfer breakdown sees Steve Cooper sensibly search for balance (2024)

Perhaps scarred by the two deals Leicester City nearly did, Steve Cooper has not wanted to play up the club’s chances of signings being completed before the transfer deadline.

Attacking players are the priority right now, and Cooper thought he had a pair arriving last week, including Czech forward Adam Hlozek. Those deals didn’t pan out, with Hoffenheim stealing in to take Hlozek from City’s grasp.

“I was close to being convinced we were adding two attacking players, and then they didn’t play out as we thought right at the end,” Cooper said at his press conference on Thursday. “It was not through the fault of anybody, it was just the way it went.”

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That’s perhaps why Cooper said “we’re close (to transfers), but we’ve been closer than we feel today”, even as a deal was being agreed for Jordan Ayew, with the Ghanaian forward on his way to Seagrave to conduct a medical. He doesn’t want to count his chickens.

Admittedly, in the past couple of years, City have had Jack Harrison, James McAtee, and Stefano Sensi all turn up at the training ground ready to join, only for the deals to break down at the final second. It does happen.

With a week to go until the deadline, Cooper began to drop more hints that he may not get everything he wants. In that case, there’s a balance to strike.

He said: “Every area we’d like to strengthen might not be done in this window. We’re really keen to get deals over the line. If it doesn’t happen, we’ve got maximum belief in these guys. That’s really important. I think we will add players, but if we don’t we’ll get on with it and we’ll commit to reaching our objectives.”

The problem Cooper has is that to bridge the gap between the Championship and the Premier League, he needs signings. But to keep the squad happy, he needs to have faith and give opportunities to the players who feel they deserve their chance in the top flight after earning the club their promotion.

There’s a middle ground to find when building the squad, and there’s a middle ground to find when discussing the capabilities of the squad. With the deadline coming into view, Cooper is trying to make sure he is not alienating his players while still making clear to anybody from the hierarchy that may be listening that he would quite like some new players.

Where he also struck a balance was in discussing the draw with Tottenham and what he and the players took from it. He did sound more confident in the team’s ability to play their way and pick up points, but he wasn’t willing to get too excited over a draw, especially given the disappointing first half.

The game taught City that bravery was required from both the manager and the players. That’s what they will hope to deliver at Fulham on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

“With it being the first game back, there were players making Premier League debuts and club debuts and maybe that showed in the first half,” Cooper said. “We allowed them too much of the ball and too much respect.

“We needed to be a lot braver in the second half. That’s on all of us, myself and the players, it’s about the collective. We played with good ambition and good intent in the second half.

“The lesson is about believing in ourselves and doing what we can do. A lot of confidence will be taken from the second half. We’re really excited about playing again. There’s been a really good vibe here. There has been all pre-season, but especially since getting that first game out of the way.

“It’s a fairly positive result, we want to be winning at home, of course. We’ve got to be not narrow-minded enough to make sure we learn from the first half. There’s been more talk about that than the second half in the game review and with the players’ opinions. But there’s lots to be encouraged by.”

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