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It’s just over a year since Claude Puel’s divisive tenure at the King Power Stadium came to an end, and Leicester City, flying high in third in the Premier League, are no doubt in a better place.

The Frenchman left the King Power and was soon replaced by Brendan Rodgers in the dugout, who left Celtic to take over the Foxes.

City are now challenging for a place in next season's Champions League, while earlier in the season there was talk of a Premier League title challenge.

However, many of the players helping Rodgers achieve success were signed under Puel and then head of recruitment Eduardo Macia, who left for Bordeaux shortly after Rodgers arrived.

Here, we take a look at the signings under Puel and give them a score out of 10.

Fousseni Diabate

Puel’s first signing and the only recruit of his first transfer window, in January 2018, Diabate was hand-picked by the French boss, who had spotted him playing alongside his son Gregoire for Ligue 2 outfit Gazelec Ajaccio.

The winger was intended to represent the Under-23s to allow him to adjust to the English game, but he was given a chance in the senior side for an FA Cup tie at Peterborough and shone, scoring two and setting up another.

He featured in every Premier League game thereafter, showing glimpses of excellent technical and creative ability.

But after the summer of 2018, his pitch-time dried up. He has since been on loan at Sivasspor and Amiens, popping up on the radar from time to time, most recently when he scored in a 4-4 thriller with PSG.

He doesn’t appear to have a future at City, but at £2m, that’s no great loss. He was a cheap gamble that nearly paid off.

Rating: 4/10

The sole Puel signing who had previously played for the manager, Ricardo spent a year under the Frenchman’s tutelage on loan at Nice from Porto.

That pre-existing relationship may have helped Ricardo swap Champions League football with the Portuguese champions for City in what seemed like a deal that was too good to be true. But there’s no need to pinch yourself, City really did get one of the best right-backs in world football for £20m.

A player of the season winner in his maiden campaign, Ricardo is a contender for the crown once again after showing his qualities at the back and on the front foot.

Quite simply, this was brilliant business.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Rating: 10/10

Jonny Evans

Branded “the steal of the century” by Rodgers, Evans arrived at the King Power Stadium for a snip at £3.5m, City enacting the relegation release clause in his contract after he dropped down with West Brom.

He took a few months to break the Wes Morgan-Harry Maguire partnership, but since then has been superb, organising City’s watertight defence and teaching Caglar Soyuncu the ropes this campaign.

With his injuries at Manchester United and his age, there were some that thought Evans might be over the hill. He is anything but and could win the club’s player of the season this year.

Rating: 10/10

There is a gulf in class between the Championship and the Premier League and it is a jump that many players have failed to make.

But City felt confident that Maddison could do the business in the top flight and it has proven £24m well spent. The attacking midfielder took to the Premier League quickly, and his intelligent passing, ability to fool opponents and create space for himself, and his devilish set-piece deliveries have made him one of the vital cogs in City’s attacking play.

Now a full England international, he has more than doubled his worth in 18 months at the King Power Stadium. That’s more good business.

Rating: 9/10

(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Danny Ward

Kasper Schmeichel has built up enough goodwill over his near decade at City that only an injury is going to see the Dane miss out.

As such, Ward has not made a single Premier League appearance for City yet. But he has played nine cup matches, and in those outings he has filled fans with faith that the club would be fine should Schmeichel suffer an injury.

Wales international was a penalty shoot-out hero during his first season, and has pulled off some spectacular saves in his few outings.

A £12m fee is a lot for a back-up goalkeeper but it could prove to be money well spent in the long run.

Rating: 7/10

Rachid Ghezzal

Poor Ghezzal. When you’re a spindly, Algerian, left-footed winger and you’re asked to replace a spindly, Algerian, left-footed winger who also happens to be one of the most technically brilliant players in the club’s history, it’s not easy, never mind the fact that, at £12m, he was only valued at a fifth of the departing Riyad Mahrez.

Monaco fans rubbed their fans with glee when he was sold, but Puel knew Ghezzal from his time at Lyon, when the wide-man was in the youth ranks, so maybe he could get the best out of him.

The early signs – a stunning strike against Fleetwood and a goal against Liverpool – were good, but after that, there was very little on show. For every nice pass, Ghezzal would be shrugged off the ball a few times.

Unnecessarily booed by sections of the King Power crowd towards the end of the last campaign, Ghezzal’s future at the club looked bleak. He is on loan at Fiorentina, where he has barely featured, and is not likely to return permanently.

Rating: 2/10

Caglar Soyuncu

There is a very different view of Soyuncu’s deal now than there was in the summer.

Back then, there was a feeling that the Turkish international may not adjust to the Premier League and that the £19m transfer was a rare misfire under Macia and Puel. In his few outings in his debut Premier League season, Soyuncu was too rash and too prone to moments of over-confidence.

There was a feeling that Filip Benkovic would be more likely to step up and take Maguire’s spot.

That’s far from the case now, with Soyuncu maturing considerably alongside Evans to show his qualities as a bullish and skilful centre-half.

Rating: 8/10

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Filip Benkovic

Right now, the £13m signing of Benkovic is a difficult one to assess.

When he moved on loan to Celtic and made light work of the Scottish Premier League under Rodgers, it looked like a potential bargain. But a couple of knocks, adding to the injury-prone reputation he was developing in Croatia, meant he did not return to City and take Maguire's spot as expected.

Now, he is on loan at Bristol City, trying to get some minutes and experience under his belt after a few months watching from the stands at Leicester.

Will the money have been worth it? We will have a better idea in a year.

Rating: 5/10

Youri Tielemans (loan)

It is hard to think of a more successful loan signing than Tielemans. He only played two games under Puel before the manager was shown the door, but if the Belgian midfielder was his parting gift, it was a very good one.

Tielemans felt like the missing cog in the City system, and helped make ensure Rodgers enjoyed a new manager bounce, popping up with three goals and five assists in 13 outings.

It was a successful enough spell to convince the one-time wonderkid to join City permanently that summer.

Rating: 10/10

Average rating of nine signings: 7.2/10