Kasey Keller recalls a special time at Leicester City

SEATTLE (AP) - The last time Leicester City was making this much noise in the Premier League, Kasey Keller was the man in goal for the Foxes.

But that success in the late 1990s was nothing compared to what Leicester is accomplishing this season.

"You think of where Leicester was last year at this time in last place to barely survive to now be in first place. I mean, to finish in the top half of the table for a club like Leicester is a huge success," said Keller, who is believed to be the only American to play for Leicester City as a Premier League club. "To win the title or to potentially win the title, it's unfathomable really."

Twenty years after Keller made his debut at Leicester City, the former U.S. national goalkeeper is watching from afar with pride as one of the most unlikely stories in soccer plays out. After the weekend action, the Foxes are seven points clear of Tottenham on top of the Premier League with just five games remaining.

Twelve months after finding themselves in danger of being relegated to the Championship, Leicester City is on the verge of one of the more unlikely championships ever accomplished in sports.

"To think of what they are achieving at this moment is really hard to imagine," Keller said.

Keller arrived at Leicester City in 1996 after becoming the first U.S. player playing in England on an American passport at Millwall in 1992. Leicester was in a similar situation that season with low expectations after earning promotion to the Premier League.

It turned out to be one of the more memorable seasons for the club, finishing in the top half of the league and winning the League Cup, Leicester's first trophy in 33 years.

"We were supposed to be relegated by Christmas. ... I remember that it was kind of a mini-success to what was going on right now," Keller said.

Keller remembered he couldn't fully enjoy beating Middlesbrough to win the League Cup title because at the time Leicester was not assured of avoiding relegation. The Foxes were able to stay up and remained in the Premier League through the duration of Keller's three seasons in Leicester.

"Leicester has always been a good club. A club that will spend so much time in the Premier League, have success in the Championship, always find their way to be in playoffs or pushing for promotion if they don't make it up, but never what you would call a super traditional (power)," Keller said. "It's not a Manchester United or an Arsenal or even a Tottenham. It's a well-represented team. A well-supported club in the Midlands that isn't Aston Villa. That was kind of in the shadow in the '70s and '80s of the great Nottingham Forrest teams that won back to back European Cups. But a team that has always kind of found a way to hang in there a little bit."

Now the Foxes are doing more than hanging in. They need just nine points from their final five games to clinch the title after winning 2-0 at Sunderland over the weekend.

"It would almost be like a Triple-A team winning the World Series if they were allowed to play in it somehow," Keller said. "And that doesn't even do it right. That's why it's such a great story."