Leicester’s U23 trialist impresses in 3-1 thrashing of Everton

Leicester City have already signed former trialist Lewis Brunt after an impressive debut for him. Now, here is what you need to know about our new trialist.

The young Leicester City side – led by Ben Petty – were victorious in their most recent outing against former champions Everton. This is no doubt due to the defensive output of their backline.

Petty’s Foxes lined-up with Kasey McAteer, Ronny Nelson, Filip Benkovic, Bayli Spencer-Adams, and Vontae Daley-Campbell in defence. They only conceded two or three good chances, and only one of those got passed Brad Young.

Nelson has come up from the U18s, where Benkovic has come down from the senior side. These were to cover for the injury and fitness concerns over Ben Nelson and the suspension of new signing Lewis Brunt.

Leicester City’s new defender

Bolstering the defensive aspect of the U23s has been a critical part of improving the Seagrave-based sides performance in Premier League 2. Last season, they should have been relegated.

Their dance with relegation was in no small part due to the lack of defenders with sufficient quality for the side. This led to several trials and several of those trials were signed.

Against Everton, Spencer-Adams made his debut as a trialist for Leicester. As reported by LeicestershireLive, the 20-year-old has previously played in stints for Watford and Dover Athletic.

The Guyana national defender came through the academy ranks at Arsenal before being signed by Watford. Despite several good performances, the player is yet to settle down.

However, his assured performance against Everton will give him the best chance of tying down a contract with Leicester City.

During the match, he showed his best qualities as part of a back three, shielded by the hardworking midfield.

Only once during the match did Spencer-Adams allow an Everton attacker to go around him. The priority being to maintain a composed wall between the player and goal. He rarely put in a challenge.

This composure while in a one-on-one duel is extremely impressive, and something which benefits a side with his exact opposite: Ben Nelson and Brunt. It is also what makes Jonny Evans so impressive for the senior side.

Additionally, he made his mark with impressive aerial duels. Though he was caught lacking in awareness at times, when he was aware, he was clinical in defence.

His awareness is the first element of his game he must improve should he wish to progress much further.

The defender’s passing was decent if not particularly creative. He would often shift the ball back to Benkovic or Young in a bid to retain possession – likely a tactical instruction. When he did offer a creative pass, it would sweep through midfield to Jake Wakeling or Tawanda Maswanhise.

He clearly has the skillset needed to develop into a more traditional defender. This will require some work and bulking up, but he can certainly develop if he remains with Leicester.

I’d recommend a two-year contract for the successful debutant. One year with the young foxes and one out on loan to a lower league side to get senior game time.