Leicester City’s new U18 signing Amani Richards’ startling rise
Leicester City had a fairly underwhelming window for the senior men’s team. The Foxes did make changes in the youth setup, here is what you should know.
Brendan Rodgers would have wanted to improve the senior side in January, but nevertheless the Foxes made several changes with players being signed and going out on loan or being sold from the youth setups.
One of those signings was Amani Richards from Arsenal U18s. Of course, being a young player comes with the drawback of being less known and having less available statistics to better understand the style of play he brings to the U18 side.
So, this is what we know about Richards and what the window looked like for the youth setup.
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Amani Richards’ Leicester City journey
The young English forward has joined the King Power side on a permanent transfer as just another chapter in his startlingly fast-paced career. Let us quickly retrace the journey which has brought Richards here.
It was only in 2021 where the winger began his career as a 16-year-old with the Chelsea youth setup, which he would leave in the same year for his boyhood club Arsenal. During the final periods of the 20/21 season, the player scored three in the U18 Premier League.
However, after this initial success, his playtime has been less prolific, and has failed to score or assist at all since then. The Arsenal youngster signed his first professional contract with the Gunners before Rodgers’ side were on the hunt.
The right-winger fits the profile of a player who could develop and become a big deal for Leicester City. Pace, energy, ingenuity, and flare are the hallmarks of his play – something the Foxes lack at the youth level on the wing and something they would like to bring to the side.
Almost as soon as he had signed his professional contract, he would join the King Power side in the 21/22 January transfer window. The scouts knew what kind of player they needed, and brought him in.
The changing face of the U23s
Amani Richards is one part of a big project. In the previous summer window, Ben Grist, Christopher Popov, Brad Young, Iestyn Hughes, Lewis Brunt, Ronny Nelson, and Bayli Spencer-Adams were all brought in to change the face of the youth setup.
At every level and in every position, the Foxes are bringing in players and sending others out on loan to improve the stock of talent coming through the academy. A clear part of the way the club is run is to rely on the growth of young talent to avoid spending millions more.
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Jakub Stolarczyk, Vontae Daley-Campbell, Kasey McAteer, and Jacob Wakeling were the new loan departures joining a string of others readying for first team football. The youth setup is improving massively, and Richards is certainly going to join this rising club.