Leicester City: Giving an unsung hero his due praise

The defensive distraught has been tormenting Leicester City fans since the start of this season. Without prominent first-team defenders, it’s not easy.

Regardless, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has turned things around after many weeks, as he has tweaked a few things here and there. As a tactician, Rodgers came up with a side that complements the team’s offense effectively rather than tending exclusively towards its defensive incapability.

The immediate plaster to all of the Foxes’ problems has come in via the 26-year-old Daniel Amartey. Since his regular starts, the Ghanian international hasn’t left much for his critiques to complain. He has filled in the void of Leicester City’s defense to the best of his abilities.

Big Dan Amartey to the rescue for Leicester City

Contributing as a rotational role player for his gaffer, Amartey seldom gets any minutes during the recent seasons. With Wesley Fofana and James Justin yet to make their comebacks, the Northern Irish boss asked Amartey to fill in. He has made a combined of nine appearances in all competitions with earning 798 minutes under his belt.

Doing nothing too fancy, he has kept his cool, calm composure and did as much as instructed. He was exceptionally eye-catching in the game against Manchester United. In that fixture, the King Power club prevailed with a scoreline of 4-2 in their favor. The threat that Amartey was dealing with that day was one of the deadliest in the history of world football. The way with which Dan dealt with Cristiano Ronaldo – was unanimously praised by the Blue Army.

"“Daniel’s been brilliant, he’s always been reliable, he’s always been there. When we’ve played the three, he’s been excellent. He’s another player we have to manage carefully because he’s on the back of not playing so much, he’s gone away, played with Ghana, come back in, and played a lot, and I think the last time that happened he was injured and out for a while. In terms of his contribution, he’s been absolutely fantastic.” – Brendan Rodgers on Dan Amartey via Leicester Mercury."

Now working with a back three system, Rodgers has invested heavily with interests in the front line. The back three comprised of Amartey, Jonny Evans, and Caglar Söyüncü form a better duo that is yielding better results in comparison against previous combinations. The Ghanian has been earning his laurels for his no-nonsense and rigid defending. It adds another flavor to the back three equations.

Dan’s contract will expire in the summer of 2023. His LCFC stint has been mostly hindered by a few injuries. But now, he is doing what was expected of him years ago. Maybe he keeps doing what he is doing. We surely would love it if he extends his stay at the East Midlands with a new deal.