Sam Hughes determined to give himself the best chance of succeeding at Leicester City

The journey may not have been easy, but Leicester City’s U-23 star Sam Hughes is finally nearing his big break after an astounding season under Steve Beaglehole in the Premier League 2.

The 21-year old signed for Leicester from Chelsea last summer, and despite sustaining an injury pretty early on, he ended the season on a note that he could not have imagined even his wildest fantasies.

Apart from the fact that he captained the Leicester City U-23s to a third-place finish in the Premier League 2 – just three points behind champions Arsenal – the “centre-back” was also the top scorer for his team with eight goals and four assists in 24 games. Imagine.

An excellent campaign finally got its ultimate reward with a call of duty from Leicester City boss Claude Puel, who at the time had his squad cut short by injuries. For a player who simply aimed to get into the U-23s side, it was all too unrealistic to believe, but that’s how it is now for Sam Hughes.

"“I suppose it has surpassed what I was hoping for, it’s been an enjoyable 12 months,” he told The Chester Chronicle.“My main aim when I first came into the club was to try and get a foothold in the U23s and show people that I was good enough and that I could compete at that level. I had to earn my place in the team.“I didn’t think for a second that I was going to walk into the team and everything would be easy for me, that isn’t how it works. I have had to work harder than ever before and I have left nothing to chance when it comes to trying to be the best I can be.“It has been a really pleasing season for me personally and also for the U23s. We had a good campaign and came really close to winning the league, which would have been a great achievement.“I don’t have specific goals I set myself at the start of each season but I just do as much as I can to give myself the best possible chance of succeeding. That was what I did last summer and that will be the same approach I take next season.”"

Among the many good things to happen to him, another one was being able to play and train with some really good players, but he pointed out the experience of training alongside Leicester’s title-winning defender Robert Huth in particular, who he has looked to learn from.

"“The final few weeks of the season saw the manager have to contend with a few injuries and that kind of opened the door to me and a couple of other lads from the U23s.“I watch the Premier League and these guys, the likes of Robert Huth and Riyad Mahrez, are guys that I have looked up to and achieved some wonderful things in the game.“But when you take to the training field with them there is no time to get star struck or anything like that. They are your teammates and all I am thinking about is making sure I am as quick as them, as strong as them, as committed as them. You are all competing for places and you want to be the best you can be.“I’d played and trained with the likes of Robert Huth during the season. He is someone who has had a great Premier League career and someone who I have looked to learn from. You watch what they do, how they go about things and then you try and adapt certain things to help you in your own game. You don’t look to imitate anyone, simply see what changes can be made to make you better.”"

For all of his excellence last season, he is still not sure what exactly awaits him at Leicester City. The Englishman, while he’d hope to be a part of the pre-season with Puel and company, isn’t ruling out any possibility.

"“There will be lads at the World Cup so there could be a chance to get involved with the first team in pre-season but who knows,” said Hughes.“There will be some talks taking place between the club, myself and my agent and it could be that things stay the same in the U23s for me next season or they may want me to go out somewhere on loan. I just don’t know."

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"“I’m not thinking too much about it at the moment, I am just going to have a couple of weeks away and make sure I am ready for next season.”"