Leicester City are going to win the Premier League.

Say this nine months ago and you’d be laughed out of whichever room you were in, but now it is looking more and more likely.

There have been murmers from some (except Graeme Souness, who just plain said it), that having the Foxes as runaway leaders is embarrassing for what claims to be the ‘best league in the world’.

However, this is completely false – and not only if you judge a division on excitement rather than quality.

Surprise sides winning leagues is not always a signal that the standards are slipping. For example, Atletico Madrid (although nothing like the outsiders Leicester City are) winning La Liga has come as Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate European football.

Hellas Verona’s amazing Serie A title win in 1984/5, which is far more similar to Leicester City’s effort, came as Juventus won the European Cup, just a year after compatriots AS Roma had come away with the biggest trophy in club football.

When Deportivo La Coruna won La Liga in 1999/2000, it was in the midst of Real Madrid winning three Champions Leagues in five attempts, with another for Valencia chucked in for good measure.

This continental success alongside shock top division winners could yet be repeated, as unlikely as it is. With Manchester City and Liverpool in the semi-finals of both European competitions, English football may end this supposedly ‘poor quality’ year holding both Cups.

If that isn’t enough to persuade you, who’s to say Leicester City are going to flop in club football’s biggest test of quality next season.

Although almost no one saw Claudio Ranieri’s men rising to the top as they have, there is no reason why they shouldn’t stay at least near there.

Leicester City’s prefered tactics, to sit deep and then hit on the counter-attack, fits European football almost perfectly.

When English teams are successful on the continent, it is usually due to a solid defence – well, the Foxes have now managed five clean sheets in a row.

There was a time not so long ago when sides would come together seemingly out of nowhere and take Europe by storm, albeit not on quite the scale that Leicester City could – look at Ajax in the 90s, or Valencia in the early 2000s.

Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough have been likened to the Foxes on many occasions, and while their European Cup double in 1978/9 and 1979/80 may be out of reach, it could be that the plentitude of cash now in football has leveled the playing field to this point again. After all, when everyone’s a billionaire, does it really matter if you’re a multi-billionaire?

The fact that Souness, and others, think that Leicester winning the Premier League is such a travesty, such a stain against the reputation of English football, only shows how the game has moved towards practically worshipping big name players and clubs.

Just because it isn’t Manchester United, Liverpool, or Arsenal at the top, doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good team. There is no reason why, perhaps with some investment from mega-rich owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to keep their star players, Leicester can’t stay above those ‘established’ names for some time longer.