The frugal winning XI! Leicester City's Premier League champions cost just £22m

For all the headline-grabbing exploits of top scorer Jamie Vardy and twinkle-toed winger Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League title success has been very much a collective effort. What is amazing is that the starting eleven that was responsible for this collective effort cost just £22m, according to a report by BBC. That amount is less than half the amount Manchester City paid for Kevin de Bruyne at the start of the season. We take a look at the average Leicester starting eleven and how much they cost individually. [caption id=“attachment_2764412” align=“aligncenter” width=“825”] Leicester City’s Premier League winning squad. Firstpost[/caption] Kasper Schmeichel (Goalkeeper: £1.25m) Kasper Schmeichel arrived at Leicester in 2011. Now 29, the Denmark international did not possess his father’s extraordinary physicality, but was ever-present for Leicester this season, helping his low-scoring side record 15 vital clean sheets on course to Premier League glory. The young goalkeeper, who was signed from Leeds cost Leicester just £1.25m. Schmeichel was miffed that Leeds decided to sell him, as reported by the Telegraph. Wonder what he feels now. Danny Simpson (Right-back: £2m) Pinpointed as the chief weakness in the Leicester’s side, Simpson silenced all doubters in style. The former Manchester United player became a mainstay in the Leicester back-four and offered great security for Riyad Mahrez to work his magic. Simpson cost Leicester just £2m. Christian Fuchs (Left-back: Free) Fuchs was signed on a free transfer from Schalke from the then Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson. But Ranieri made the perfect use of Fuchs experience, who made the left-back spot his own. Considering it was a free transfer, it goes down as one of the signings of the season. Wes Morgan (Centre-back: £1m) The rock at the heart of the Leicester defence, Morgan joined the club from local rivals Nottingham Forest for just £1m in January 2012 and was quickly installed as captain. Despite lacking pace, he is an authoritative presence and with Robert Huth has formed an old-school central defensive partnership founded upon strength, astute positioning and aerial dominance. The Jamaica international, 32, scored a key header in a 1-0 win over Southampton in April, during a run of seven clean sheets in nine games that effectively secured the title. Robert Huth (Centre-back: £3m) Huth has been a revelation in the Leicester defense and has been perhaps the best defender in the Premier League this season. After featuring for Premier League clubs like Chelsea and Stoke, Huth joined Leicester in 2015 for a fee of just £3m. His partnership with captain Wes Morgan was instrumental in Leicester’s title triumph. N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder: £5.6m) A £5.6 million ($8.2 million, 7.2 million euros) capture from French side Caen last year, Kante has astonished observers with his relentless energy, driving runs and extraordinary knack for recovering possession. Legendary former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson described him as “by far the best player in the Premier League” and he was shortlisted for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year award. He won his first France cap in March and is a near-certainty for a place in Didier Deschamps’s Euro 2016 squad. Danny Drinkwater (Central midfielder: £675,000) Danny Drinkwater along with Kante ran the show in the Leicester midfield. A Manchester United youth product who couldn’t make it big at Old Trafford found him home at Leicester. His admirable passing range and tenacity made him a key figure in the Leicester City team. Drinkwater cost Leicester just £675,000. Riyad Mahrez (Winger: £400,000) The impish inspiration behind Leicester’s success, Mahrez symbolises the fairytale journey that the club have overtaken over the past 12 months. Signed from Le Havre for just £400,000 in January 2014, the rakish, velvet-footed Algerian winger flitted in and out of the team 12 months ago as Leicester fought to stay in the division, but this season he has been a sensation. His 17 goals – including stunning strikes against Chelsea and Manchester City, and a hat-trick against Swansea City – and 11 assists set up countless wins and saw him become the first African to be elected as England’s Player of the Year by his peers. “Riyad is our light,” said manager Claudio Ranieri. “When he switches on, Leicester change colour.” Marc Albrighton (Winger: Free) After being overlooked by Aston Villa, Marc Albrighton’s career seemed to be heading for a downward spiral. But a move to Leicester on a free transfer in 2014 offered him a chance to revive his career. Come 2016, he is a Premier League champion. Albrighton’s pace and incisive crossing complemented Mahrez’s threat on the other flank well. Another one of the smart transfer buys from the Foxes. Shinji Okazaki (Forward: £7m) Chased by Leicester for over four years, Shinji Okazaki was certainly worth the wait. Signed for a transfer fee of £7m, Okazaki forged a deadly partnership with Jamie Vardy and his energy upfront was a key element in the high-pressing tactics that Leicester employed so successfully this season.  Jamie Vardy (Striker: £1m) Leicester’s talisman, the hard-running and prolific Vardy has become the snarling face of Ranieri’s team. The wiry Yorkshireman’s rags-to-riches tale has seen him rise from non-league obscurity to top-flight record-breaker, England international and Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Player of the Year in just four years, attracting the attention of Hollywood scriptwriters. Despite scoring 22 goals, he looks poised to miss out on the Golden Boot, but he created Premier League history in the autumn by scoring in 11 consecutive games. Kudos to the Leicester scouts who managed to sign Vardy for just £1m. With inputs from AFP