McAuley set to leave Foxes

Whether McAuley's departure would be good or bad depends on your perspective. There is no doubt he's a solid defender and his partnership with Kisnorbo represented as good a "no entry" sign as you'll see outside Premiership football. But in car trade parlance, a fee of £1.2-£1.5m would probably equate to "top book price" for a centre-back who's always looked more of a stopper than a starter of football moves. Arguably the biggest reason Leicester were relegated was because they failed to score enough goals and a contributing factor was that they didn't launch attacks consistently enough or often enough from the back. That wasn't all McAuley's fault. Kisnorbo was at least equally careless. And while you might cope with one gifted defender too easily and too often returning the ball to the opposition, having two simply invites too much pressure and starves the attack of necessary service. If Kisnorbo wasn't a long-term injury victim, McAuley's departure wouldn't be of great concern. If would offer an opportunity to get more pace and passing into the defence either via Stearman or a new signing. Some have said Harry Worley is the natural successor. But it's a view based on one relevent first team game when he was fairly average and a couple of reserves outings when he looked decidedly vulnerable at times. Worley is undoubtedly a footballer. Although 6 feet 3 inches tall he's looked an elegant and constructive player rather than the robust, block everything destroyer that is Patrick Kisnorbo. Unfortunately Worley's elegance has so far been negated by his tendency to make naive and goal-costing mistakes or to get sidetracked into arguing with the referee with the effect of leaving his fellow defenders light-handed. Yes, those errors might have been down to new-boy nervousness but they'll have to be rectified if defensive standards are to be maintained and attacking impetus improved. Richard Stearman is probably the more serious option at this stage. He might still be young but he's becoming vastly experienced with over 100 appearances already. He was one of our few successes last season - at right back - but many claim centre-back is his natural position and they might well be right. Stearman of all people would add pace and creativity where little presently exists and some even believe he could take on the role of skipper. Assuming he too doesn't leave, of course!

If you can get £1.5 million then you can replace him with enough talent for League One standards.