In the continuing series of Leicester City player reviews, Damon Carter breaks down what was both an amazing and heartbreaking season for the player known amongst hatters fans as ‘The Luton Cafu’.
James Justin, versatility personified at Leicester City
Appearances total – 31 – Premier League – / FA Cup – / Europa League – / EFL Cup –
Moment to savour – A stunning strike at Stoke City
Moment to forget – The injury that ended his season and contributed to Leicester’s end of season decline
The Future – Immediately it will just be about getting back up to speed before hitting the strides that saw him strongly tipped for an England cap
There will be a theme that permeates many of the player reviews for the Leicester City squad from the 2020/2021 season, namely that of injuries.
James Justin had broken into the first team at the back end of 2019/2020 due to injuries to Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira. Despite a few occasional lapses he performed admirably and showed glimpses of potential.
His importance to the squad was pushed even further when Chilwell’s inevitable transfer to Chelsea was sealed. With Timothy Castagne coming in as a full back straight after, it was assumed that Justin would be keeping the right-back spot warm until Ricardo was fit enough to return.
However Brendan Rodgers had different ideas starting Justin at left-back where he has proven to be one of the sensations of the season. The beauty of both Justin and Castagne is that they interchange during the game if the balance isn’t quite right.
This versatility is where Justin has really shone this season. He’s managed to play in every position at the back in a three, a four or a five. This has helped Rodgers cope with an ever-growing and ever changing injury-list. Put simply Justin has been the ace up the managers sleeve.
His defending statistics continues to show improvement with 97 Premier league tackles and 167 recoveries to name but a few. But where he has shone is in his abilities going forward. His first goal of the season was only in game week 2 against Burnley and although he had to wait until January to add to his tally it was one worth waiting for. An absolute thunderbolt against Stoke City from the edge of the box after cutting inside.
Arguably a better goal was scored at Fulham where he utilised his abilities from a deep run to continue to add support to the attack before coolly going around the goalkeeper to slot home. He even added a couple of assists to his name with his set-up for Vardy against Brighton being another highlight.
His season was going so well that he was being tipped for an England call-up and given Justin’s quality and versatility, he would have been a difficult player for Gareth Southgate to ignore. But of course that was all ended on the 10th February when Justin landed awkwardly and damaged his ACL during an FA cup game with Brighton.
It was a cruel way for the 23-year-old’s season to end with so much more success to finish off a remarkable season. He missed out on an FA Cup final and with his exemplary fitness surely would have helped Leicester City tighten their grip on a top 4 berth.
But it wasn’t to be and Justin had to frustratingly watch on as his excellent season came to a blunt end. With his return date not expected till autumn, Leicester City will again need to plug gaps and ask young players such as Luke Thomas to step up to the plate.
Looking at Ricardo Pereira’s lack of form this season after a similar injury, we will all need to be patient with Justin’s road back to this season’s form. But at 23 years old it’s worth remembering that this young player is going to continue to improve. Had he have seen the season out i’m confident he could well have been awarded the Leicester City player of the season award.
Rating 9/10 – Chances of leaving 0%