Leicester held 1-1 by Notts County at Meadow Lane as youngsters offer bright spots

Leicester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Notts County at Meadow Lane in their League One match on Saturday, a game in which the visitors were at times outfought and outperformed. The result exposed defensive uncertainty and left manager Russell Martin insisting his side must learn quickly.

Off the pitch, the club’s future remains unsettled: Martin has not been told Leicester are officially for sale despite reports that owner King Power wants more than £200m for the club, and a sale brochure has been prepared. The squad contains high-value assets — the training ground is listed at £100m and Oliver Skipp cost £20m — while Notts County operate on a markedly lower budget, training at the local university and registering a most expensive summer signing of £200,000.

The game turned early when Ollie Cooper charged down Alex McCarthy and the rebound struck the crossbar inside six minutes. McCarthy and the centre-back pairing of Caleb Okoli and Harry Souttar repeatedly turned possession over in dangerous areas, errors that prompted a compilation of the defensive miscues to circulate on social media.

Leicester took the lead through Jayden Joseph, but sloppy defending allowed Conor Grant to score from close range in the six-yard box and level the match. A sell-out crowd of 17,172 reacted passionately to the derby atmosphere as Notts County — promoted from the fourth tier last season and described in match coverage as well-organised and energetic — matched Leicester’s intensity.

Youth options provided a rare positive: Will Alves, Joseph and Sammy Braybrooke all started and were noted as the most composed members of the team in difficult circumstances, having spent last season out on loan in the third or fourth tier. By contrast the article criticises some of Leicester’s higher-profile recruits, saying the expensive signings Okoli and Skipp “were not representative of their CVs,” and that the forwards were blunt.

Supporters voiced frustration with the ownership during the game, booing at points as the team fluctuated between uneven and unacceptable phases. Martin acknowledged the need to improve, saying: “We’ve got loads of learning to do and we’ll be better for that, much better,” and later adding, “A bit of anxiety crept in, the atmosphere changed in the stadium, and that’s the biggest learning for us.”

This match was the first league meeting between the clubs since 1994, with County returning to this level for the first time since 2014-15; when Leicester won the Premier League a decade ago, County finished 17th in League Two and then spent four years in the National League. Off-field uncertainty continued to affect selection: Stephy Mavididi and Wout Faes missed the match after receiving bids, and captain Souttar has drawn interest from Championship sides.

Martin declined to dwell on the result, saying: “I said to people it’s not going to be easy,” Martin said. “The first day of the season, we get some crazy results. This was not an easy fixture on Sky; early kick-off; a team that got promoted last year, just down the road. We take it and we move on. And we have to improve next week.”