How and why Marc Albrighton became so crucial to Leicester again

After his stunning goal against Rennes in the UECL on Thursday night, Marc Albrighton proved that he is a crucial Leicester City player.

Albrighton put Leicester 1-0 up after half an hour played after Harvey Barnes set him up on the edge of the box allowing him to fire the ball into the net. The midfielder also provided the assist for Kelechi Iheanacho’s stoppage time goal providing the Foxes with a 2-0 lead heading into the second leg in France next Thursday.

The winger has started six games in a row for the first time in over four years and since this Leicester have won four games in all competitions. You can see how crucial he is to the team, as Brendan Rodgers describes:

"“He’s an invaluable member of the squad, someone who turns up every day, trains, gives his all. When he plays he gives everything.“To score a goal, create a goal, work as hard as he did, he had a great night. He’s been a big player for us coming into the team.“What’s allowed us to get our win rate up has been work rate, and that work rate from players like him is so important.“How you press the game at the top end of the field, make it really difficult, that’s been the real foundation of our work, and he epitomises all of that. He’s been absolutely brilliant, and it was a great night for him.”Daily Mail"

He’s popular amongst fans too, with many hailing him on twitter and comparing Albrighton to a ‘fine wine’.

Additionally, the Tamworth-born midfielder, “was crucial during the 2015/16 season and deserves a statue just as much as Jamie Vardy does”, some fans have said. Tenacity, non-stop effort and determination are a thing fans are in awe of from the ex-Aston Villa wingman. He has even been branded as a ‘club legend’ by some as he is one of the hardest working players on the pitch and never lets the team down.

The 32-year-old is constantly seen chasing down balls and seems to get everywhere on the pitch. In his 90 minutes played against Rennes he made two clearances, 100% tackle success, five recoveries and one interception, whilst also receiving the man of the match award.

You can see why ‘Sharky’ is so underrated in the Premier League as he always gives his all. Clearly Rodgers trusts him more than other options to adhere to managerial instructions. However, the former has come under criticism in recent weeks by some fans:

I would say some of the criticism Albrighton has received is unfair as no he might not have that technical ability like others but at least you can always bank on him to give all of his effort every game. Every time he plays, he leaves it all on the pitch!

On the other hand, he has been described by other Premier League fans as a player “every club dreams of having”, showing how everyone can see just how crucial he is no matter who you support. He has also proved crucial in Europe for the Foxes too as he has scored the same amount of goals as Ken Keyworth (three), only six players have scored more goals on LCFC’s all-time list.

Having got him on a free transfer from Aston Villa, I would say we’ve got ourselves an absolute bargain, partly for the effort Albrighton produces which is always 100 per cent. To sum it all up, he is one of the most crucial players in the Leicester squad both on and off the field to both squad and fans alike.