Jonny Evans has warned Leeds United that they will face stiff promotion competition next season as he tipped Leicester City for an immediate Premier League return. Evans' club Leicester and Leeds were both relegated on the final day of the season after Everton beat Bournemouth to secure their own survival.
And that leaves Leeds back in the Championshiup for the first time since 2019-20, and Leicester back in the second tier for the first time since 2013-14. Leeds and Leicester, along with the third relegated side Southampton, will be amongst the favourites to win promotion next year, although several other sides such as Sunderland - where Evans had a loan spell earlier in his career - Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Coventry City, and Blackburn, will also fancy their chances.
Evans may or may not be at Leicester next season as negotiations over a new contract continue, but the Northern Ireland defender - and older brother of Sunderland midfielder Corry - is convinced that the Foxes can bounce straight back. "I do believe they will," he said.
"I think they’re a well-run club. Hopefully the finances become available for them to be able to do that.
"The Championship's a tough league but if they get everything right it's a really attractive club to come to. It's got great owners.
"I think they'll be back."
Asked where things had gone wrong for Leicester, who were Premier League champions seven years ago, he added: "We got off to a bad start and it's very hard to turn that around in the Premier League. Because of our form over the previous couple of seasons, we felt, and I think everyone felt, that we could turn it around
"But as time went on, it started to become more difficult. Then the pressure builds.
"There are so many good teams in this league and there were a lot of teams going through the same thing, fighting for those spots. Unfortunately, we couldn't make up the ground to get out of it."
