Perhaps the strangest of inclusions in the Leicester City starting XI for the game versus West Bromwich Albion was Luke Thomas. The 19-year-old who hasn’t started in the league since the return of both starting wing-backs, Timothy Castagne and Ricardo Pereira.
In absence of players ahead of him, Luke Thomas has always performed admirably when called upon, with the game at the King Power Stadium against Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion being no exception. On occasion, Thomas has been deployed as the left-back, rounding out a back four, but this time he featured further forward, playing as the Foxes’ left wing-back in a 3-4-1-2 formation.
Many of the English youngsters cameo’s have been in the UEFA Europa League – highlighting the qualities Brendan Rodgers feels he possesses. Thomas became a crucial part of Leicester City’s European group stage and managed to accumulate as many minutes (540) as he’s done all season in the Premier League – also 540. Although, I would suggest as an average, the opposition the Foxes faced in the UEL are of a lower quality than those in the domestic league.
In the comfortable, 3-0 victory against West Bromwich Albion, Thomas scored an impressive 7.5 out of 10 according to WhoScored.com – out of the starting XI this placed him as the sixth highest performer. That’s nothing notable, but I’ve stated frequently – on my post-game threads – how difficult the wing-back position is inside of the 3-4-1-2 structure, Rodgers is implementing at the moment.
In attacking sequences, they’re the most advanced player (naturally) and often receive the ball with little vertical passing lanes and are forced into recycling possession. This limits their attacking input and they’re also relied upon heavily in defensive situations – plugging the gaps in width and creating a numerical stalemate (with their side centre-back vs. the opposition winger and full-back).
Against the Baggies, Thomas wasn’t really relied upon offensively – making just 52 passes, only Kasper Schmeichel (22) and Jamie Vardy (20) made less. He held his own in possession, and didn’t bottleneck the output on his wing, but his inexperience did shine through slightly – with the second worse pass completion percentage (at 76%). I would accredit this to his ability to complete difficult passes and a confidence to attempt them, something he’s gathered during his European games, as he completed the joint third most progressive passes for the Foxes (3).
As mentioned earlier, the fixture was really a non-contest, although Leicester City did only accumulate 2.3 xG (expected goals) from their dominance. Four players contributed to creating these chances, one of which was Thomas – with an xA (expected assists) of 0.1 – from his sole shot-creating action. It might not sound a lot, but Kelechi Iheanacho (who did manage to add 1.2 xG) and Youri Tielemans both offered 0 xA from the fixture, with all three attacking substitutes also struggling to aid the xG for the Foxes.
I’ve highlighted what Thomas offered in possession, but his best quality is within his defensive actions. The academy graduate was the third most active presser – with 15 in the game, and also made the most blocks (with four). Impressive in his individual duals, yet still this isn’t where he thrives. Many could argue Thomas is a long-term replacement for another grad’, Ben Chilwell. The Chelsea full-back has always excelled aerially, despite maintaining a fairly average stature. This is something I feel Thomas replicates tenfold.
Sam Allardyce’s West Brom side offer physical dominance in defence, and – somewhat – attacking flair in their forwards. I highlight this to add extra credit to Thomas, who managed to win the most aerial duals in the fixture (with four). The ability to be successful in aerial duals is very advantageous for relieving pressure, especially for Schmeichel who utilises the wing-backs in possession once being pressed.
Even if used in small quantities, to have the ability to play in the air into Thomas – and feel confident knowing he’ll win the majority of his duels – is great. Combine this with his impressive nature in possession for a player as young as he is and you’ve got a real asset inside the Foxes squad.
It’s not the first time Leicester have graduated a real talent from the academy, and it surely won’t be the last – particularly with Sidnei Tavares and Khenya Leshabela becoming increasingly prevalent in the first-team squad, after impressing for the U23’s. It will be difficult for Thomas to puncture the starting places under Rodgers – with the amount of quality in the full-backs currently – but he always performs when asked upon and will eventually become a focal point of the Foxes future.