It has been a summer of transfer activity that has been almost unprecedented in recent years at Leicester City and football director Andrew Neville has been at the heart of it. Seven players have arrived so far as the club's owners have made a significant investment in manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's first-team squad.Neville is working on four more possible signings, and he admits it has been a hectic summer of transfer activity, the likes of which he has not seen before in his 13 years with the club. Neville sat down with the Leicester Mercury for a question-and-answer session at City's team hotel in Stockholm to look back on what has been a remarkable summer for the club. Q How satisfied are you with the business you have done so far? A We are quite pleased. I think it was a priority to try to get them in early. This is a new team with a lot of new players, the more time they have together is important, so we did set a target at the start of July. We achieved quite a lot by then, but there are still some more we need to bring in, three or four more to come. That puts quite a lot of pressure on us because we are trying to get them early, which has made our negotiating position a little poorer. Q Have you missed out on any targets? A There have been some players that allegedly we have missed out on, but I think it is important to say there have been some targets we decided not to proceed with. There will be acquisitions we will continue with and some we will withdraw from. Q Is there a policy that you want young, British-based players who know the Championship? A I think, yes, there is. You could argue that Paul Konchesky doesn't fit that bill. He has Premier League experience but he played for Nottingham Forest in the Championship last season. We think he is not only good enough for this level but good enough for the next level as well. We have done quite a lot of research on every acquisition we have made and there is a rationale behind all of them. Q How difficult has it been negotiating with other clubs and agents? A That is one of the reasons it has taken so much time. It has been difficult because we are perceived to be wealthy. I think we have put a value on everything and there have been some where we have drawn a line and said we aren't prepared to go to that level if we don't think that is sensible, and that might happen with some we are trying to do at the moment. Q Now you have landed a few players, does that create the perception that top players want to join Leicester City? A I personally felt we had a bit of pressure in the later part of May and through June because we were negotiating with a lot and could have said yes to quite a lot, but we didn't want to do that. We felt that they were asking for too much, which is why we withdrew from one or two. The ones we have now genuinely want to be here. But when you do get quite a few more higher-profile players coming in, it makes other players think they would like to be part of that. The people we have signed have helped that perception because they are household names. QYou say there could be possibly four more new players, which would take your total to 11. That is a brand new team. Do you think it will take time to gel? A We have signed a lot of defenders and have a new-look back four because we have to stop conceding goals. I know that sounds simple. They will absolutely need time to gel, but we are talking about very good, seasoned professionals who are used to playing at this level and a higher level. Q Have you had interest in any of the current players from other clubs? A There has been interest in some of our players but we are not in the market to diminish the squad at the moment, we are in the market to add to it. Undoubtedly, further down the line, there may be players who may not want to be part of the squad and we will look at that as and when. That is not my job, that is up to Sven to identify who will be part of the first-team squad. Q What if a current squad member asks to leave? A Let me make it quite clear, we don't want anyone who doesn't want to play for the club. This is just me talking but we would let them go. We need everyone moving in the same direction to be successful, not just on the field but off the field. The whole club needs to be moving in the same direction. Q Do you think the favourites' tag will be a burden? A Undoubtedly that will be a problem for us. It was a problem for Manchester City last season. We have to deal with that because, wherever we go, we are going to be a target, whoever we play against. But the players we have bought are good enough to handle that.
