League One Match: Leicester City open the season at Notts County

Clubs with Premier League pedigree dropping down to League One is nothing new, but no decline matches Leicester’s.

Just over a decade ago the Foxes were celebrating their famous 5,000-1 Premier League success.

Five years earlier they had won the FA Cup, and just four years on from their first European semi-final when they lost to Roma in the Europa Conference League.

Three relegations in four seasons, initially before yo-yoing between the Premier League and the Championship, with back-to-back drops has sunk the club to arguably the lowest points in its history.

Financial pressure will again be on the Foxes, who suffered a points penalty for historic overspending last season.

A squad that has underperformed badly in recent years will need to be rebuilt despite talented players such as Ghana’s Abdul Fattau, Denmark’s Jannik Vestergaard, former England midfielder Harry Winks and Belgium’s Wout Foys, who remains on Fox’s books after a loan spell with Monaco last season.

Russell Martin, who guided Southampton to Premier League promotion just two years ago has been appointed To lead the revival of Leicester’s ground.

The third-tier job also represents an opportunity for the 40-year-old to revive his managerial reputation after a disastrous 17-game spell in charge of Scottish side Rangers last season.

There is also a theme of resurgence about Sheffield Wednesday’s return to League One after three seasons, now with the club Owned by US consortium Arise Capital Partners.

With Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday in League One, this again means that more than a third of the clubs in the division have played in the Premier League, the others being Bradford City, Blackpool, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town, Luton Town, Reading and Wigan Athletic.

Luton, a team who suffered repeated relegations after spending the 2023-24 season in the top flight, finished one place and one point short of a play-off spot under Jack Wilshere last season.

The former England and Arsenal midfielder, who led the Hatters to EFL Trophy glory in his first season in charge, was linked with a possible move to Leicester earlier in the summer, but opted to stay at Kenilworth Road.