Keeping Dennis Praet at Leicester City is a no-brainer

Leicester City’s Belgian attacking-midfielder has been forgotten about by the club. Here is why we must rediscover Dennis Praet and retain the playmaker.

The King Power club spends around £21million to acquire the services of a steady if not prolific playmaker from Sampdoria in 2019. What was to come could not have been expected.

In the following 2019/20 campaign, the attacking-midfielder featured 36 times, scoring once and assisting thrice. Though not prolific, Praet was lively, and certainly made himself a fan-favoured player. This was especially the case when appearing alongside fellow midfielder Youri Tielemans.

The next season saw a marked fall in appearances for the Premier League club. 24 games in total, two goals and two assists. Another not so prolific season, and falling out of favour against an ever-present James Maddison.

We all know how the next season went. Brendan Rodgers shifted the Belgian out on loan. Out of favour and out of chances, it seemed the Belgian trio was to be forced apart. However, fate sometimes has other ideas.

Leicester City must not sell Praet

As of the time of writing, Leicester have failed to sell a single player, and have failed to sign a single player. The Foxes’ transfer window has been drier than the Sahara desert, and that at least has some life there.

This includes the Belgian midfielder. Although there remains interest from Torino, nothing has materialised. Upsettingly, it seems Rodgers still wishes to offload the playmaker, without having signed a replacement for the team.

In the attacking-midfield position, the King Power club currently have James Maddison, Ayoze Perez, and Dennis Praet due to a lack of transfers. Perez is versatile so can be played on the right if needed, where ‘Madders’ can be played off the left in different formations.

Praet is a natural AM and can play in that role as well. To categorise them, ‘JM10’ is the architect and maestro of the side, ‘Ayo’ is more of a ball retaining forward, where Praet is a penetrator. Our third Belgian likes to break forward and cut into defensive lines, rushing beyond it to latch onto through balls.

Within these two points are my two reasons we should not sell Praet. Firstly, selling him necessitates purchasing a player where that money could be spent on a prolific right-winger or a better CB. Just creating space in the side is not what we need, Leicester need depth in midfield.

Second, the 28-year-old midfielder offers something that neither of the others currently offers. An alternate system and an alternative play style could be better suited by a penetrative player such as Praet.

By breaking up the Belgian trio, all we will be doing is weakening our ability to vary the side and change things up should injuries occur. Essentially, he may not be prolific or devastating, but there remains a player of value in there.