The youthful star players of Leicester’s promising future
Leicester City’s U23 and U18 squads are now brimming with technically gifted talent readying themselves for a senior squad challenge. These are the players.
The King Power side are already known for identifying diamonds in the rough from across Europe, and have been steadily progressing their senior first team into a real force in the Premier League. Now consistent contenders for European football, they have to progress elsewhere.
To improve, the Foxes must now grow substantially their academy operations, also empowering their scouts to sign youthful talent to join together with their development sides. This provides the opportunity to find future stars, rather than having to look for stars at a budget.
Over the past two seasons, this focus on the youth side has transformed the young East Midlands side from relegation favourites to a solid challenge in PL2 and top of the table contenders in the PL U18 Southern division.
So, let us see who Brendan Rodgers could use in the following seasons as the players develop and improve from the star-studded youth sides.
Leicester City’s next defenders
From the U18’s, Leicester City brought in Grimsby Town star Ben Grist. Grist has been a revelation in the youth side. The English defender is one of the biggest reasons the U18’s are challenging at the top of the table.
Give this youngster a couple years, and he will be ready to go out on loan to get regular first team football. With the right development, Grist can become a composed leader at the back – a role he is relishing at the moment – and could be the very long-term replacement to Jonny Evans we need.
The U23’s have even more options from which to pick. I will settle with four defenders. The first is of course Vontae Daley-Campbell. The English right-back has already featured for the Foxes and has shown himself to be one of the strongest tacklers in the game.
Along with fellow fullback Shane Flynn, the two have become regular starters for the 8th place side in PL2. Rodgers will be pushed to either send these two on loan next season for regular football, or make use of them occasionally in the senior side.
At centre-back, Leicester has the impressive Ben Nelson and newly signed Bayli Spencer-Adams. The English defender Nelson has come all the way through the academy and is one of the names registered for the Europa League; he is once more another composed and tall defender who can take on the Evans role.
The Guyanese defender Spencer-Adams is much more progressive than Nelson, and spend quite some time with Watford. While at Watford, the youngster did play twice in the FA Cup. His development is much further along than Nelson, so expect to see him in the senior squad within two years.