Some fans would swap promotion for chance to see more of golden generation

THIRTEEN months ago, Leicester City earned their first win of very few in the Premier League, beating Bournemouth 1-0. They did so without any academy graduates in their squad.

- By JORDAN BLACKWELL

It was not that fans would have traded the three points to have had a homegrown player in the lineup, but it did rankle a little.

After 288 games and nearly six years of having at least one academy-developed player in the team or on the bench, a terrific run was over.

Within a year, there had been quite the turnaround. For the second game of this season, the Carabao Cup tie at Huddersfield, nine of the 20 players in the City squad had come through the club's academy.

It is not only an impressive feat, but one that builds excitement and pride in the fanbase.

There were plenty of reasons for such a drastic turnaround. Relegation leads to sold players and so there are more gaps in the squad to fill, especially as City had, at that point, not made any outfield signings.

Plus, they had a number of players returning from promising loan spells and, perhaps most significantly, they have a golden generation coming through.

Jeremy Monga, Jake Evans, Louis Page and Bade Aluko have all emerged as potential first-team players at the same time.