A 2-1 victory in the dying embers of the match against Southampton left Leicester City and their faithful exuberant. Yet, the only thing more shocking than Harry Maguire’s miracle strike against the Saints was Claude Puel’s starting XI.
Leicester City under Claude Puel are looking promising. In three matches the Foxes have achieved six points. Wins came against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton and a loss against Manchester United.
With the quality of players the Foxes have on their roster, these results are not surprising. Though the match outcomes have not been surprising – Puel’s starting XI has been, for better or worse.
Miracle Mendy
The transfer window for Leicester City was more than busy. Puel gave the club an overhaul this summer – by bringing in seven new players for a staggering total of £104.3 million – according to transfer markt. Yet, the most surprising addition to the starting lineup is defensive midfielder Nampalys Mendy.
Mendy joined Leicester in July of 2016, when former boss Claudio Ranieri signed the Frenchman from Nice for a then club transfer record of £13 million. In that first season with the Foxes, Mendy only made seven appearances in all competitions; four of which were in the Premier League. This lack of game time led to a season long loan move back to Nice for the 2017/18 season.
After an uninspiring performance at Manchester United, people assumed Adrien Silva would be benched and replaced by Vicente Iborra – or possibly even Hamza Choudhury. Instead, Puel gambled with Mendy for matches against the Wanderers and Saints: the results were shocking.
To put it simply, Mendy was surprisingly terrific. The French midfielder performed calmly and effectively on the pitch. Though it has been only two matches, Puel’s bold selection of Mendy may have finally found the perfect partner to Wilfred Ndidi. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that in comparison against Southampton, Mendy outshined and outperformed the always reliable Ndidi – not easily done!
Mendy has been apart of Leicester for two seasons now, however, it feels as if the Foxes have a brand new player that can immediately help in the middle of the pitch. Although, with every yin there is a yang and with every bold call to start the Frenchman, there is the ever more curious choice of Daniel Amartey.
Daniel Amartey: The player that can’t keep up
Amartey is a player that has a lot of potential. However, whenever the young international from Ghana plays he looks out-of-place. In his three appearances this season – with starts against Man United and Southampton – Amartey looked unconvincing and weak at right-back.
Amartey has the physical skills that his boss loves: a young, multi-positional player that can play both midfield and defense. While also being able to advance the ball and be on the attack; is the type of defender the French gaffer has at his disposal.
With Puel wanting Ricardo Pereira to play right-wing instead of right-back and with Danny Simpson’s age and inability of playing the attack, Amartey gets the starting right-back position. However, Amartey has squandered these opportunities. So far this season Amartey has regularly been sub par, at best. Unfortunately, his only noteworthy moment came when penalised for a handball against United that led to a Paul Pogba penalty kick.
Could Claude Puel’s confidence in Daniel Amartey be waning? The safe lineup would have Pereira start at right-back and bring back Marc Albrighton as the starting right-winger.
However, if Puel continues this trend of bold and surprising selections for his starting XI – then it should come to no surprise when Amartey starts next Saturday versus Liverpool. Who will be playing right-back is not the only defensive question that Puel needs to answer.
Who will be Slab-Head’s partner?
If there is one guarantee for Leicester City, it is that come game time Harry Maguire will be on the pitch. In the past year since his transfer from Hull City, “Slab-Head”, has become an English superstar and one of the Premier League’s top center-backs. While Maguire is a guaranteed starter, his defensive partner is not definite.
So far, Maguire’s partner in the back has been Wes Morgan and Jonny Evans. Evans, who was injured, did not play at first, opening up a spot once again for Morgan against United. The Jamaican put in a solid display, but his age showed against the Red Devils. Due to this, Evans began at center-back against Wolves, but put in an uneven and uninspiring performance.
Though Evans did not play up to par, the former West Brom captain was expected to start against Southampton. Instead, Puel surprised once again by choosing Morgan over Evans. The gamble paid off, as Captain Morgan put in a gritty performance that, especially at 34 years old, was admirable.
Though the gamble worked against the Saints, it is unrealistic to assume that Morgan will always put on that strong of a display, especially against top-six teams. This leaves Puel with another conundrum.
With Maguire a guaranteed starter, that leaves three players, Wes Morgan, Jonny Evans, and new arrival Caglar Soyuncu fighting for that other centre-back spot. Morgan and Evans’ displays have not been great – nowhere close to the quality of play Maguire is performing at.
That leaves Puel with one question: should the French gaffer play Leicester legend and captain Wes Morgan, Premier League veteran Jonny Evans, or young buck Caglar Soyuncu? If we have learned anything from Puel so far this season: it’s that he is impossible to predict.