Barnes may take Vardy’s place upon his Leicester return
Brendan Rodgers faces a tough choice when Harvey Barnes returns from injury, to bring him back into Leicester City’s squad he will have to drop Jamie Vardy.
We have all seen the recent dip in form of the legendary Jamie Vardy, with his typical clinical goal-scoring ability traded away from a startling creativity alongside the stellar Kelechi Iheanacho.
In fact, over the last five matches in the Premier League, Iheanacho has scored seven goals. He has become ‘undroppable’. Meanwhile, our top goal scorer – Vardy – has scored once over that same period.
We know that Harvey Barnes was electric before his knee injury left him on the side-lines and destroyed an exceptional formation Brendan Rodgers was using at the time. Barnes was critical to that system, his pace and energy integral to attacking play down the wings.
Let’s explore what the options are for Brendan Rodgers upon the return of Harvey Barnes from injury.
Dropping Jamie Vardy
Rodgers would be vilified by Leicester City supporters for even considering such a move against the legend who brought us the title in recent memory. However, the gaffer might be thinking just that if Vardy’s form does not pick up.
Harvey Barnes started to bring numbers to his Leicester City game before his injury put a halt to his Euros bid. He accumulated nine goals and four assists over 25 appearances in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Vardy has scored 13 and has assisted eight over 29 appearances.
It goes to show how well Barnes was playing that he had 25 appearances before his injury. If Barnes had not been injured, this season could have gone even better.
Nevertheless, should Rodgers drop Vardy, he would be able to go three up front, with Iheanacho in the middle, Barnes on the left, and Marc Albrighton on the right.
This option allows for the restoration of our progressive and possession-based style of play from earlier in the season, though it would require either a centre-back be dropped for a winger – going to a 4-3-3 formation – or s midfielder removed to make a 3-4-3 formation.
I find this option hard to reconcile with my adoration of the Leicester legend, especially with his increasing contribution to matches in the form of creativity and assisting. Vardy has turned from goal-scorer to chance creator.