Daniel Amartey’s rise from forgotten misfit to Leicester cult hero

Just 24 more minutes from the bench across four fixtures would be to come. Playing time that included a late stint in defensive midfield as the 10-man champions-elect battled to a late point at home to West Ham United in April.

This was the start of Amartey’s struggles to find a natural position at the King Power. His versatility is a great trait to possess, but it often works against players who find themselves as an able deputy for many roles without cementing a firm hold over one specific position. While the 2016/17 season got off to a worrying start for the East Midlands outfit, with teams figuring out why Ranieri’s men were so successful and being more ably equipped to stifle them, things were looking up for Amartey, who made a run of 15 starts out of 18 Premier League matches in the middle of the park.

Then came the African Cup of Nations in January 2017, where Ghana reached the semi-final deploying Amartey as a defender, with the Leicester man being named in the team of the tournament. When he returned to face Swansea City, everything had changed.