Foxes of Leicester
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The perfect time for Leicester City to break into Premier League top six

By Matt Taylor

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Leicester City looks on during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leicester City at London Stadium on April 20, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Leicester City looks on during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leicester City at London Stadium on April 20, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) /
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BURNLEY, ENGLAND – MARCH 16: James Maddison of Leicester City celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal with Jamie Vardy of Leicester City, Ben Chilwell of Leicester City and Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Leicester City at Turf Moor on March 16, 2019 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND – MARCH 16: James Maddison of Leicester City celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal with Jamie Vardy of Leicester City, Ben Chilwell of Leicester City and Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Leicester City at Turf Moor on March 16, 2019 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) /

Young squad with a top manager

It is an exciting time to be a Leicester City fan, with a starting XI worthy of challenging the top six, who will only develop as they build on their Premier League experience. It is imperative that this squad is kept together, as their value and quality will undoubtedly grow.

The capture of an experienced, successful manager such as Brendan Rodgers only adds to the excitement. The Northern Irishman has proven himself to be both a serial winner at Celtic, contributing greatly to their ‘treble treble’ in Scottish football, and an excellent coach who can nurture young talent. Most notably, the form of Filip Benkovic, who previously worked with Rodgers while on-loan at Celtic, certainly felt the benefits of the 46-year-old’s tutelage, even finding himself compared to Virgil Van Dijk.

Additionally, City’s faith in their academy is something to be marvelled at. If they can produce the likes of Hamza Choudhury, Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell in such a short space of time, there is no reason why such a cohort cannot be replicated.

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Hopefully, after the Under 21 European Championships this summer, Gareth Southgate will return to picking players on form, rather than being influenced by ‘top six bias’ and afford our young squad with invaluable international experience. The performances of James Maddison and possibly even Hamza Choudhury arguably merited a senior call-up this season.

Trending. Maguire can influence Maddison. light

Overall, it seems that the Foxes squad have transitioned away from the counter-attacking, experienced side that famously won them the league, to a young side that are extremely comfortable in possession. This summer, the priority should be to keep these youngsters together at all costs, while bringing in a handful of recruits to complement the current cohort of starters at the King Power stadium.