Football League World
·6 August 2023
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·6 August 2023
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Leicester City defender James Justin says he is staying at the club this summer following their relegation to the Championship.
Justin joined the Foxes from Luton Town for a fee that could rise to £8 million in June 2019 and his impressive performances led to him being called up to the England squad for the first time last summer, making his debut against Hungary.
However, after starting last season as a regular, Justin ruptured his Achilles in November, keeping him out of action for the remainder of the campaign.
Justin is now fit again and he was an unused substitute for Leicester's 2-1 win over Coventry City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Following the Foxes' relegation from the Premier League, a number of the club's key players have departed, with James Maddison completing a £40 million move to Tottenham Hotspur and Harvey Barnes joining Newcastle United for a fee of around £39 million, while the likes of Daniel Amartey, Ryan Bertrand, Jonny Evans, Nampalys Mendy, Ayoze Perez, Caglar Soyuncu and Youri Tielemans have also moved on.
But Justin will not be heading out of the exit door, revealing that he is keen to repay the club for helping him recover from his injury.
"I went from the highest of highs by playing for England to the lows of being injured and relegated," Justin told The Sun.
"But I’m staying. Leicester took a chance on me after I won promotion from League One with Luton four years ago.
"This club has done a lot for my career. They’ve stuck by me through two bad injuries, having previously been out for 11 months with an ACL, and fully rehabilitated me.
"My plan is to help the team get promoted this season. "The Championship is going to be fast, furious, in your face and we’ll not be allowed to breathe for a second. "It’ll be a graft with 46 games. You can get comfy in the Premier League playing only 38. It’ll be a shock to some of those who aren’t used to it. "We’re not going to get any special treatment because we’re Leicester. "Everyone looks at the talent we had but the final table didn’t lie. It was a bitter pill to swallow because I couldn’t put my stamp on things after I came back from injury. "The club had to make a decision about who to register in the squad and no-one could’ve foreseen I’d be back ahead of time. "Our relegation was down to a combination of things. We weren’t ruthless enough when we were on top in games and were shipping goals for fun.
"We had a great run before the World Cup where we kept six clean sheets out of seven but weren’t able to do that consistently and that’s ultimately why we went down."
Leicester fans will be delighted to hear Justin's comments.
There is no doubt of his talent and now he is back to full fitness, he will be keen to play a key part in the Foxes' season as they aim to make an immediate Premier League return.
Justin faces tough competition for places at the King Power Stadium, but he offers useful versatility with his ability to play at right-back or left-back, so he will be an asset for Enzo Maresca's side.
It was an excellent start to the campaign for Leicester, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's second-half double securing a comeback win over the Sky Blues and they will be keen to build on the victory as they make the trip to Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, although it could be a much-changed team against the Brewers.