The French Connection - Leicester's Own Les Bleus
Brendan Rodgers' side are preparing to tackle Les Rouge et Noir in the two-legged last-16 tie which begins at Leicester City Stadium on Thursday (8pm GMT kick-off).
Going back over the last few decades, several Foxes have arrived from across the English Channel to great acclaim and made a name for themselves on Filbert Way...
Defender Franck Rolling became the first French player to appear in the Premier League for Leicester when he came in from Ayr United in 1995, making 18 league appearances during a two-year spell at Filbert Street.
He was followed by goalkeeper Pegguy Arphexad, who transferred from Lille and was a France Under-21s international at the time of his move. Born in Les Abymes, a French overseas region of Guadeloupe, in 1973, Arphexad was on the books at Brest and Lille in the early 1990s before making his French Division 1 debut for Lens in 1996, featuring in the final three games of the 1995/96 season.
The next campaign, the shot-stopper was loaned back to Lille, where he made two league appearances. Off the back of that season, Martin O’Neill brought the 6ft 2ins shot-stopper to Leicester, where he enjoyed three seasons of success.
Arphexad made his English top flight bow in a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 18 October, 1997 - the same opposition that his first Premier League clean sheet would come against, during a 2-0 home win a little over four months later.
After a total of six appearances in 1997/98, a further four league games, three clean sheets and three victories followed in 1998/99, including a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day.
In fact, Leicester remained unbeaten with Arphexad between the sticks that season, as well as progressing in the League Cup after beating Chesterfield 3-1 in the second leg of the second round tie.
The 1999/00 season was his most productive in a Leicester shirt, appearing 18 times in all competitions, playing a vital role in the Club’s latest League Cup triumph.
Having been in goal for both legs of the second round tie against Crystal Palace, Arphexad saved two spot-kicks to see his side progress 3-0 on penalties in the quarter-final with Fulham, which was tied at 3-3 after extra-time.
In the FA Cup, meanwhile, the Frenchman was involved in four ties, including a goalless draw with Arsenal and then the replay, replacing the injured Tim Flowers in extra-time. Arphexad kept out spot-kicks from both Lee Dixon and Gilles Grimandi to help Leicester win 6-5 on penalties.
In the Premier League, he kept four shutouts in 1999/00 as Leicester finished eighth in the table, including a memorable 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield on 3 May, 2000, one of his final games before moving to Gérard Houllier’s side on a free transfer that summer.
Anthony Knockaert’s three-year Leicester City career, on the other hand, was a rollercoaster ride which involved play-off heartbreak and eventual promotion to the Premier League.
The tricky winger, born in Roubaix in northern France, had a varied youth career before making his name at Guingamp between 2009 and 2012.
Making his debut in 2010, a year after his first professional deal, he was soon part of the title-winning squad that were promoted to Ligue 2 and it was there that Knockaert made his appearances for France Under-20s, and later, the Under-21s squad.
Signing for the Foxes in August 2012, his debut arrived that same month, as did his maiden goal – a free-kick against Burton Albion in the League Cup. Two months later, he scored a magnificent brace – including a long-range stunner and a scorpion kick – in a 2-0 Championship win at Huddersfield Town.
A further two goals followed before the end of the year, during a 6-0 success against Ipswich Town and a 2-2 draw with Barnsley. Knockaert was Huddersfield’s nemesis again, scoring another double in a 6-1 triumph, while his final home goal of the campaign saw off Wolverhampton Wanderers.
His most crucial strike of the campaign, though, was the winner at Nottingham Forest to send City into the play-offs, while he also assisted Andy King’s goal in that 3-2 win. The Frenchman scooped both Young Player of the Year and Goal of the Season, finishing with nine in 47 matches.
There would heartbreak in the semi-final second leg, however, as Knockaert’s late penalty was saved, with Watford subsequently scoring to go through to the final on aggregate.
Leicester and Knockaert would come back stronger the following campaign, firstly scoring twice in the League Cup, but it was in the Championship that things really started to come together for the eventual champions.
A goal in the 3-0 win at Vicarage Road put to bed the demons of the previous season, before a four-month unbeaten run which contained three Knockaert goals.
A seventh goal of the season was hit against Sheffield Wednesday just prior to promotion being confirmed, ultimately being the decisive strike, and Leicester went up as champions.
In 2014/15, the midfielder made 11 appearances, starting on the opening day of the Premier League season as the Foxes pulled off a ‘great escape’ to survive relegation. After spells at Standard Liège and Brighton, he joined Fulham in 2020 and spent last term on loan at Nottingham Forest.
N’Golo Kanté is widely regarded as one of Leicester City’s best-ever signings, not just for his value for money, but also the part he played in the title-winning campaign of 2015/16.
Despite only staying at King Power Stadium for one season, he left an indelible mark on the Club by helping them to do the unthinkable and lift the Premier League trophy.
Arriving from Ligue 1 outfit Caen in August 2015 to little fanfare, Kanté quickly developed into one of the most important players in Claudio Ranieri’s counter-attacking system.
The diminutive Frenchman earned plaudits for outstanding displays in the middle of the park and his stamina and tackling abilities became trademarks that pushed the Foxes on, forming an important partnership with Danny Drinkwater.
His one and only Leicester goal came in victory over Watford on 7 November, 2015, opening the scoring during a 2-1 success at King Power Stadium. But it was his defensive qualities which set him apart from the rest and were so influential for the team’s cohesion.
The Parisian-born midfielder started his senior career with Boulogne in the third tier but it was at Caen where he made his name and persuaded Leicester to bring him to the Premier League.
Having won promotion in France, he was joining a side which had also been recently promoted and then survived their first season in the top flight. What followed was the greatest season in the Club’s history, with Kanté having a big role to play.
He was named in the PFA Team of the Year, making more tackles (175) and interceptions (157) than any other Premier League player in 2015/16 by some distance - stats which no doubt lured Chelsea into purchasing the midfielder, where he would win a second league title in as many seasons.
Since then, he has also lifted the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and Emirates FA Cup.
Nampalys ‘Papy’ Mendy, who joined the Club in the summer of 2016, remains a key member of Brendan Rodgers’ current squad.
Although a full Senegal international at present, winning the African Cup of Nations earlier this year, the defensive midfielder was born and raised in France, playing for the country’s international youth teams from Under-18s right up to Under-21s.
Born near Toulon in the south of the country, his youth career led him to four different French clubs before earning a professional contract at Monaco in 2010, winning promotion back to Ligue 1 in 2012/13.
It was at this one point he switched to Nice, enjoying three seasons under Claude Puel, who would later become his manager at Leicester. A fourth-place finish and some impressive passing stats convinced the Foxes to part with a reported Club record fee to land the midfielder, who stood at 5ft 6ins.
An ankle injury hampered the start of his City career - he only played eight games across all formats in 2016/17, involving one appearance in the UEFA Champions League - and he spent the next campaign back at Nice on loan.
He returned to Leicester to become a mainstay in the 2018/19 season, making 31 Premier League appearances, including in back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Manchester City as the Foxes finished ninth under new manager Rodgers, who joined in February.
Mendy was restricted to just eight appearances in 2019/20, but last term was again an important member of the squad, featuring 29 times in the league, UEFA Europa League and also in the Emirates FA Cup winning squad. The midfielder carried an impressive passing accuracy of 91 per cent in the Premier League in 2020/21.
Signing from Saint-Étienne in early October 2020, following a sharp rise through the youth levels in his native France, central defender Wesley Fofana quickly established him in the English game, showing confidence and maturity beyond his years to adapt to the rigours of Premier League football.
Playing 28 times in 2020/21 to guide Leicester to a second consecutive fifth place finish and earn another year of European football, City's No.3 started the Emirates FA Cup Final as the Foxes lifted the trophy at Wembley for the very first time and was named the Foxes’ Young Player of the Season at the Club’s End of Season awards.
A total of 38 appearances in all competitions comprised of 35 starts and 14 clean sheets, while Fofana’s impressive stat of 92 Premier League clearances was only bettered by Jonny Evans.
The France Under-21 international’s composure on the ball and confidence to play forward passes was a key component of his game last season, demonstrated in being second only to Youri Tielemans in the number of touches during 2020/21 Premier League games (2,121).
Earlier this week, the Marseille-born centre-back signed a new contract to remain a Fox until at least 2027.
Boubakary Soumaré's move from Lille OSC, meanwhile, announced in July 2021, signalled the arrival of a third French-born player within Leicester City’s current squad. Born in Noisy-le-Sec in 1999, he featured for Paris FC before signing with Paris Saint-Germain aged just 12.
Helping their Under-19s win the French Championnat National in 2016 and reach the final of the UEFA Youth League despite only recently turning 17, the imposing central midfielder soon starred for PSG’s reserve side in the fourth tier of French football.
Leaving for Lille in 2017, Soumaré was part of the squad that finished second and fourth in consecutive Ligue 1 seasons. The following campaign saw the club secure their fourth top-flight title. Soumaré made 41 appearances in all competitions.
The 6ft 2in central midfielder’s spell as a Fox couldn't have started better, lifting the FA Community Shield after a substitute appearance in the 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
A maiden appearance for the Club in the UEFA Europa League followed against Napoli on Filbert Way in September, before a full Premier League debut at Brighton & Hove Albion three days later. Playing 28 times to date, he has seamlessly fitted into City's midfield.