With the season now well and truly underway, it’s time for FoL to pick our brightest young prospects for Leicester City’s 20/21 campaign.
Every year, Leicester City seems to consistently produce a dazzling crop of breakout stars. Notably, Çağlar Söyüncü solidified his place in the first team last campaign, academy graduate Ben Chilwell made a £50 million switch to Chelsea, while fellow graduate Hamza Choudhury is reportedly also being targeted by Premier League rivals.
Despite newest recruit Timothy Castagne marking his EPL debut with a sensational goal against the Baggies on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers spoke recently on his frustrations with squad depth regarding transfer activity this season. Even if the Foxes are able to get a few more deals over the line before the deadline on 5 October, it’s likely that much of Leicester’s youth will need to step up this campaign to meet the demands of increased fixture congestion. That said, here’s who FoL are tipping for greatness in 20/21.
George Hirst
First up is centre-forward George Hirst, England U-20 international and son of former Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst. The 21-year-old forward was signed from sister club OH Leuven in 2019, making his first team debut as a substitute against Tottenham towards the tail end of last campaign. In 16-17, Hirst scored an impressive 40 goals in all competitions and was consistently prolific for England’s youth setup, netting hat-tricks against Cuba and Poland and finding himself a place in the 2017 Toulon Team of the Tournament, while also sharing top scorer. Last season, he scored a respectable nine goals for Leicester City in the PL2, and looks set for a greater role in the first team.
With only one striker targeted this window and the Foxes yet to sign a forward player at all, Brendan Rodgers could bring Hirst through as reinforcement to golden boot winner Jamie Vardy and deputy Kelechi Iheanachco. At 6’4, the towering centre-forward would offer aerial threat to a Leicester City front line that has sorely lacked it in the past few seasons, while with the departure of Islam Slimani looking increasingly likely, Hirst could well be the ‘Plan B’ that Leicester are looking for when the chances aren’t falling to Vardy & Co. However, Rodgers spoke recently on plans to loan out large parts of City’s U-23s to gain vital first team experience, with a loan switch to Rotherham United imminent. Although we might not see Hirst in the royal blue of Leicester this campaign, he’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Next up is home-grown talent Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. A dynamic, box-to-box midfielder with an excellent passing range and an eye for goal, Dewsbury-Hall is certainly one for the future. The 22-year-old spent last term on loan with Blackpool, and scored 4 goals in just 10 appearances for the Tangerines. Despite his apparent quality, it will be difficult to find a place amongst mainstays James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Dennis Praet and Wilfred Ndidi in Leicester’s midfield, and so the East Midlands club are leaning towards a loan move for the youngster. Dewsbury-Hall is not short of admirers, with Luton Town reportedly leading the pack for his signature, though many Tangerines fans are holding out for his return.
The Shepshed-born midfielder impressed for Leicester in pre-season with a thunderous strike against midlands rivals Birmingham City, then played the full 90 minutes against fellow Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers. Dewsbury-Hall hopes he’s done enough to secure a place in Rodgers’ 25-man squad for the coming season, but with Leicester’s midfield arguably their strongest area, it’s likely that he’ll join Hirst on loan. If KDH’s loan switch aids his development the way Rodgers hopes it will, then we might be looking at an even more complete player come his return.
Luke Thomas
Lastly, we’ve got another Leicestershire local in the form of left-back Luke Thomas, though I’m sure those of you who caught his masterclass debut against Sheffield United are already familiar with this name.
As an attack-minded full-back with a good passing range, Thomas may well be the natural heir to Ben Chilwell, but at 19-years-old lacks any first team experience whatsoever outside of 3 appearances for the Foxes, and would probably have a better bet of cracking Rodgers’ squad after a loan spell. However, with a specialist left-back yet to be signed to replace the departed Chilwell, it remains to be seen whether Thomas has a place in Leicester City’s first team squad or not.
Both James Justin and Timothy Castagne are proficient on either side, though neither are a natural left-footer, while veteran Christian Fuchs seems to be closing in on retirement. If deadline day comes and City haven’t brought in a left-footed defender, it’s likely that Thomas will get minutes on rotation this season, should Rodgers opt not to loan him out with Hirst and Dewsbury-Hall.
On Sunday Leicester meet Burnley at King Power Stadium in Leicester’s second Premier League contest and the Clarets’ first encounter of the campaign.