Why Leicester’s defence can become best in Premier League

Wesley Fofana – the indomitable

Wesley Fofana is incredible. Simply incredible. I can predict with certainty that he will be a generational talent in defence, providing the disruptive and energetic backbone of the Foxes squad for years to come. He will supplant and exceed the heights of ‘Big Wes’.

He probably did not expect to be thrusted into the starting eleven so readily. He probably did not expect to be playing in the Premier League and being spoken of in the same league as Virgil Van-Dijk. But such is his ‘wonderkid’ status.

The 20 year old is already Leicester City’s most disruptive and pressing defender. He contests more ground duels, provides more clearances, interceptions, and take-ons than any other central defender at the club per 90.

He also completes many more opposition half passes (18.1 per 90) than any of the other defenders. This represents a third quality in his game: marauding. He maraudes forwards with pace and purpose, beating several players with an unexpected movement, thus allowing him to provide both the transitional movement, and the attacking pass.

I can imagine it being scary for a midfielder to see the tall Leicester City 20 year old marauding passed them and their mates, then managing to pass through to Castagne, Ricky P, Under, Barnes, Maddison, etc. He is immense.

This is why I deem him indomitable. The Foxes are very lucky to have such an energetic player in their midst. His interplay with Evans is the same as the Soyuncu-Evans partnership: Evans provides the composure and aerial balance, where Fofana dominates the ground, presses attackers, and disrupts play incessantly.

A similar defensive player, though no where near as energetic or marauding, is James Tarkowski. Tarkowski is an exceptionally balanced defender – from his years in one of the most defensive systems in the league.

He is aerially sound, makes a lot of successful challenges, clears the ball about the same amount as Fofana, and contests nearly the same number of ground duels with attackers. So, ‘Tarky’ presses well, is more composed, and provides a similar defensive balance. He would make a fine addition if Evans or Amartey were ever to leave.

Daniel Amartey – the aerial king

So it is we meet our final centre-back. I have excluded the versatile Justin and Fuchs, and the club captain Wes Morgan from this list. I do not believe we should be playing ‘Big Wes’ ever again unless we are forced due to injury. This was proven by his omission from the latest Europa League squad. He is retiring and should not play.

Daniel Amartey has had a troubled time at Leicester since joining in 2016. He was originally more of a defensive midfielder, playing there in much greater volume early in his career. He then moved to playing as a defensively-sound right-back. Well, then he got injured.

He made his long awaited return in a pre-season match versus Blackburn Rovers. Where he scored! I love Amartey – he has had to overcome a lot of bad luck, and is now rightfully back in contention at Leicester City.

His new role as a centre-back suits his personal attributes. He is tall, domineering, strong, very right-footed, and can almost always find a backwards pass to retain possession.

He mostly plays on the right side of a back three, usually as a substitute. He contests more aerial duels than any other Fox – 7.5 per 90! That is a very good statistic. He may not successfully get his head to ball in all those cases, but the presence of a tall and strong defender often forces either a misplayed pass, or a pass to be taken too quickly.

Amartey’s main contribution to the squad is therefore his aerial prowess and ability to quickly pass the ball back to retain possession in our own half; this usually leads to a Schemichel clearance rather than starting a progressive transition.

So although he does not build transitions like Soyuncu or Fofana, and is not as composed as Evans, he provides a much needed aerial presence against clubs – like Wolves – who have a lot of strong and tall players. Imagine having him, Fofana, and Ndidi in the same penalty box!

So let us rejoice at his return, at his new role, and at his solid performances in that role. We salute you Amartey!

Keep in mind these two names: Jonathan Tah and Duje Caleta-Car. Both are similrly aerially dominant, while also bringing two other qualities to the foreground. Tah is very similar to Evans in his ability to retain possession under pressure, and pass the ball around in his own half.While Caleta-Car is more progressive and more successful in his aerial challenges and ground challenges.

These two could be targeted for a transfer to the King Power Stadium in the event of either Amartey or Evans leaving the club. They would provide a more balanced and dynamic individual performance alongside the balanced system Leicester City already have.