It seems only days since the 2018-19 season concluded but a batch of Leicester City players are already preparing to return to Belvoir Drive for pre-season training.

Preparation for the 2019-20 campaign begins in earnest on Monday, July 1, when City’s non-internationals will be called back to the club’s training ground to begin to build their fitness for the new term.

Other City players will gradually filter in throughout July in what is set to be an important pre-season at the club.

The 2019-20 campaign is Brendan Rodgers’ first full season in charge at City and he will be assessing his squad during the summer to decide who is capable of helping the club achieve their top-six aims.

As well as training, the squad have seven fixtures to impress the boss, against Scunthorpe United, Cheltenham Town, Cambridge United, Stoke City, Rotherham United, Atalanta and Nice.

Here, we have picked out the players with the biggest point to prove to Rodgers before the season kicks off against Wolves on Sunday, August 11.

Kelechi Iheanacho

Despite his stuttering form – Iheanacho has not scored a competitive goal since September – Rodgers is keeping faith with the young striker.

“Kel will come back into pre-season, have a really good pre-season, gain more confidence, work hard and hopefully come out of that with a renewed motivation to show his qualities,” Rodgers said after Iheanacho’s high-profile miss against Manchester City.

Kelechi Iheanacho has not scored for Leicester City since September 2018
Kelechi Iheanacho has not scored for Leicester City since September 2018

Iheanacho must prove that faith is well-placed. If he is to remain as Jamie Vardy’s deputy, and maybe earn more first-team opportunities, he must show the quality that prompted City to spend £25m on him two summers ago.

With Vardy back late from the World Cup last year, Iheanacho led the line in pre-season and scored four goals in three games.

He needs to do the same this summer, but then keep up his form when the campaign starts for real.

Demarai Gray

It is thought City will splash the cash on a winger this summer, reducing the opportunities for the club’s current crop of wide-men, who may have to battle for one spot.

Marc Albrighton’s work-rate is well-regarded by Rodgers while Harvey Barnes is making progress after stepping up to the Premier League this year, but there is pressure on Gray to show improvement.

The Birmingham-born winger has notched a combined five goals and assists in each of his full three seasons at City, despite being afforded more pitch-time each year.

Rodgers has spoken about the “numbers” he wants from his wide-men and Gray’s tally hardly stands out.

But, at least the 22-year-old is aware he needs to get better. “It was just ok,” was his assessment of his last campaign.

He will need a more-than-ok pre-season to feature heavily in Rodgers’ plans for the new term.

Daniel Amartey

Through no fault of his own, Amartey has not yet been able to prove his qualities to Rodgers.

For the first few months of the new manager’s tenure, the Ghanaian was still in recovery from the broken ankle he suffered last October.

However, Amartey is expected to be fit to return to full training this pre-season and he will have to prove to Rodgers how he fits into the squad.

Originally a defensive midfielder, Amartey has been converted to a right-back by City and was improving there under Claude Puel when he sustained the serious injury against West Ham.

But with City chasing Luton full-back James Justin as an understudy to Ricardo Pereira, there may be fewer opportunities for Amartey on the right side of defence.

This pre-season, the 24-year-old not only needs to prove he has the quality to be a member of Rodgers’ squad, but also has to show where he could fit in.

Matty James

Midfielder James is in the same boat as Amartey, but may have to work even harder for recognition.

The former Manchester United man’s persistent injury problems limited him to just one senior appearance last season and his first job will be to prove to Rodgers that he is fit for the campaign.

After that, the 27-year-old will have to show that there is a role he can fulfil in the centre of the park amid competition from Wilfred Ndidi, James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury, Papy Mendy and possibly Youri Tielemans.

However, James should feel optimistic of his chances. He successfully won over Puel during the Frenchman’s tenure, while his high work-rate will impress Rodgers, who is a fan of lung-busting midfielders.

Caglar Soyuncu

As if getting games at centre-back was not hard enough for Soyuncu last season, it is about to get more difficult for the Turkey international.

The £19m recruit from Freiburg made just eight appearances in his debut City campaign and just one under Rodgers.

The good news is that Soyuncu’s display in the 4-1 win at Huddersfield impressed the Northern Irishman.

The bad news is that there is even more competition for places next term.

Beyond first-choice duo Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire, there is club captain Wes Morgan, who is sticking around for one more year, as well as Filip Benkovic, who returns from his loan at Celtic, where he performed solidly for Rodgers.

And if Maguire is sold, City are likely to bring in another top-level centre-back.

This pre-season, Soyuncu has to show why he deserves to jump up the centre-half pecking order.

And the rest

Filip Benkovic: Although there is more pressure on Soyuncu to dazzle, Benkovic will have to show he has brought his Celtic form back to the King Power Stadium.

Callum Elder: Now 24, Elder has just one more chance to show that he is deserving of a first-team berth at City.

Papy Mendy: The Frenchman did well as a late substitute under Rodgers, ensuring City held on for victories, but he must demonstrate more dynamism if he is to have a more prominent role.

Rachid Ghezzal: The Algerian’s future at City looks bleak, but if Ghezzal can show some stunning form in pre-season, he may be able to change Rodgers’ mind.

Fousseni Diabate: Like Ghezzal, there does not appear to be a future for Diabate at City. But if the ultra-confident, showboating winger that shone on loan at Sivasspor returns, he may yet convince Rodgers to give him a go.

Islam Slimani: The striker’s time at City looks to be over, but if he was to score a hatful Rodgers could hardly ignore him, particularly given the club appear to be lacking a prolific back-up to Vardy. However, Slimani won’t return until late in pre-season because he is representing Algeria at Afcon.