Praet exit highlights Leicester’s midfield conundrum
By Damon Carter
With much promise and excitement following his arrival in 2019, Dennis Praet returns to Italy for a season-long loan with Torino leaving many Leicester City fans wondering where it all went wrong for the Belgian international.
Praet’s technical ability cannot be questioned. His eye for a pass was noted with an extraordinary example at Brentford that resulted in the winning goal in early 2020. He perhaps doesn’t score enough goals but still ghosts into the box when needed.
The former Atalanta man can also hit a bullet of a shot as Burnley noted last season after a Praet-thunderbolt. Positionally he is strong and tough in the tackle. So with all these strengths why is he being moved on?
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What position best suits Dennis Praet? Is he a deep-lying midfielder protecting the backline? A box-to-box midfielder? Can he play number ten? Out wide? Double pivot?
It’s likely that Brendan Rodgers asked himself these and many more questions as Praet was given a number of positions to tackle during his two years at LCFC. But with the emergence of the midfield pairing of Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans becoming impenetrable and James Maddison having no true rival to his position, Praet’s ability to become a ‘jack of all trades’ and ‘a master of none’ has counted against him.
It’s very much arguable that Praet is a better footballer than some of the regular starters that Rodgers deploys. But the key is that he has no true specialist area in this Leicester City system. At Sampdoria, he cemented himself in the starting 11 of a central midfield of 3 in the curiously Italian 4-3-1-2 formation. This isn’t a formation Leicester tends to get too close to and it could be here that the recruitment may have been taking a slight gamble on the Belgian international. The Italian game is not so much reliant on the high press and with plenty of midfield numbers, Praet may well find himself getting more game time.
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Does the 27-year-old have any future at Leicester City? The sensible answer would be ‘no’ but some key factors can’t be ignored. Tielemans future at the club doesn’t look long-term and Wilfred Ndidi might bring to an end his long service sooner than we think. A positive season at Torino could open up more opportunities for Praet, so maybe the door isn’t entirely closed yet on the player that is contracted at the King Power stadium till 2024.