Leicester Tigers need much more than just George Ford if they are to challenge for the Premiership again

Ford will need to be the first of a heavy recruitment drive by Leicester if they are to maintain their top-four status and challenge for a Premiership title they haven't won since 2013

Aaron Mauger currently has a Leicester Tigers squad that isn't up to scratch to challenge for the Premiership (Getty)

It’ll take more than the re-signing of England fly-half George Ford to get Leicester Tigers back on track, that’s for sure, but at least it’s a start. The announcement on Tuesday that Ford will return to Welford Road, with Freddie Burns heading in the opposite direction to Bath, took no one by surprise given that he exercised a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the club a year early.

When the 23-year-old arrives back at Welford Road – perhaps with this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour under his belt – he will signal the dawn of a fresh start at the club. The long-serving director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, no longer holds the reins after being sacked at the start of the year, while the future head coach is yet to be decided despite Aaron Mauger’s admission that he is keen to retain the role beyond the end of the season.

Ford will also have to find a way to fire up an attack that is somewhat lacking in the ammunition department. The side that suffered the record 43-0 defeat by Glasgow Warriors in January featured little of what you would elite Premiership names outside of Burns, and the fly-half’s time with Leicester has not gone without its rough patches either.

The alternative option at No 10, Wales Under-20 international Owen Williams, is also off to pastures new in the form of Gloucester next season, which leaves the obvious issue that if Tigers fail to sign another fly-half on top of Ford, there will be little recognised back-up in the squad, leaving a very large hole when Ford disappears on international duty.

Of course, Leicester have suffered more than most in the injury department. That backline would’ve looked significantly better – and dare say close to world class – had Matt Toomua, Manu Tuilagi, JP Pietersen and Telusa Veainu been available, while new signing Maxime Mermoz will certainly add a degree of talent to the squad following his drawn out move from Toulon.

But the problem for Leicester is not across the backline but up front. A front-row of Ellis Genge – “the gangster from Bristol”, according to Eddie Jones – Tom Youngs and Dan Cole is about as good as they come on paper, but Youngs has not been at his best for quite some time now. Genge looks like a star in the making though, while at 29 years old Cole could still have his best days ahead.

Behind them though, the make-up does not instil confidence. Ed Slater seems to have stalled somewhat, having been on the cusp of the England squad not so long ago, while Graham Kitchener is in similar territory despite being billed as “the next big thing” by Rugby World Cup winner Brad Thorn two years ago. In the back-row, Mike Williams continues to improve and is not far from his first England cap, but Tom Croft has been hit by injury again this season and the No 8 options of Luke Hamilton and Lachlan McCaffrey simply don’t match up to the likes of Billy Vunipola, Nathan Hughes or Louis Picamoles, those individuals turning out in the same shirt for Leicester’s main rivals in Saracens, Wasps and Northampton respectively.

Injuries to key players like Manu Tuilagi have not helped the Tigers (Getty)

The dominant Leicester pack of the Martin Johnson-Neil Back era right through to Lewis Moody’s departure in 2010 were able to not only impose on the opposition but dominate them in every aspect of the game, giving them the front-foot ball that backs such as Mauger, Tom Vardell and Alesana Tuilagi proved devastating with.

Leicester need a radical squad overhaul, and after going down the development route in more recent times, it simply hasn’t worked out for them. Ford should be the first on a handful of headline signings this summer, and if not, the Tigers’ top four berth will not be around for much longer.