They controlled the ground in winning the title and Leicester intend to become a force in the air in their defence of it. In Islam Slimani, Claudio Ranieri believes he might just have found his flight commander.
On the basis of the Algerian’s league debut against Burnley, there was cause for his optimism.
Aside from Slimani’s all-round performance, which was an excellent combination of throughballs, dribbles and defensive pressing, he headed the first two of Leicester’s three goals.
That was partial repayment for the record £29m paid to Sporting Lisbon for the 28-year-old, but the longer-term hope, Ranieri revealed, is that Slimani will offer a sustained aerial threat for a team that ranked only joint eighth for headed goals last season.