Rachid Ghezzal opens up on the reality of life at Leicester City

Leicester City and Algeria winger Rachid Ghezzal gives a candid interview on his life in Leicester and the club’s atmosphere.

If the higher-ups at Leicester City regarded the replacement of Riyad Mahrez with Rachid Ghezzal as equally like-for-like, then it’s a failed theory. Naturally Claude Puel will have been consulted as he knew and rated the player.

Whether the decision was partially taken to retain the million plus Algerian social media followers is a possibility that has been mentioned. In which – hypothetical – case it was a particularly cynical and unnecessary manoeuvre.

Regardless of why Ghezzal was bought, he hasn’t been able to produce even half of the productivity as a Mahrez. Although the comparison is typically unfair because any recipient of a PFA Player of the Season award is an exceptional performer.

While Ghezzal hasn’t had many chances or enough minutes to replicate previous wing genius, he does underwhelm consistently when receiving a run-out. Almost to the point of nervousness or a lack of ability to make it in the best global league – the Premier League.

However, Ghezzal is a very talented wingman despite us Blue Army members not quite witnessing those skills for Leicester City. Though if one simply YouTubes the Algeria international’s repertoire it is evident he has a certain indescribable je ne sais quoi. He must now act fast when called upon, or he’ll be on the roster’s summer cut list.

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Featured in the Leicester Mercury, the Algerian talks honestly about life at Leicester City and how he attempted to help Youri Tielemans acclimatise to England:

"The atmosphere is family friendly, far from that of a very big club,” Ghezzal told L’Equipe.“Leicester remains a regular club, even if it has experienced something extraordinary.“You will never be able to take away from the champions what they have achieved together. The link between them is strong but they have remained humble and helped me adapt.“Now, I’m trying to do the same with Youri, but he’s too organised! When he arrived, he had already settled everything at home and he spoke the language very well.“Me, I manage. I can make myself understood and I understand more or less what I am told.”– Rachid Ghezzal"

It is absolutely no surprise to hear that Tielemans is as organised away from the field of play as he is on it. You can vividly imagine the Belgian: picking up some items mid-home, elegantly turning on a six pence and placing them effortlessly into the miscellaneous drawer.

Additionally the 26-year-old former Monaco man mentioned his close friendship at the East Midlands club with Papy Mendy and Ricardo Pereira. The latter duo also played together at Nice with former Foxes boss Puel managing. Most noteworthy as well as commendably, is the fact Ghezzal appears to be a trier.

Bournemouth travel to Leicester for the next Premier League contest at the King Power Stadium, Saturday. Eddie Howe’s team are now fully involved in a relegation scrap, following a superb 2017/18 as they qualified for the Europa League.