For the past couple of seasons, a young Frenchmen by the name of Wesley Fofana was considered to be the future of the Leicester City defensive backline.
It had been a couple of roller coaster seasons for Fofana at the club. Injuries would often halt his great run of games. But, whenever the Frenchmen was on the pitch, he was brilliant. After being nursed back to full strength and signing an extension with the club, the future seemed great for Fofana and City.
Then Fofana would demand to be sold to Chelsea and things would spiral out of control. Cryptic posts were made by Fofana, Brendan Rodgers forced him to train with the youth academy and he was kept out of games. Eventually, The Foxes would eventually sell Fofana to Chelsea for a transfer fee of around £70million. With there being just a couple of games until the season starts, fans wondered if Leicester could find a replacement before the end of the summer transfer window.
The day after the transfer window ended, Leicester announced the signing of Belgian center-back Wout Faes. The East Midlands team signed the 24-year-old for £15m. Fans wondered if Faes could fill the hole left by Fofana. After his first couple of games, Faes has proved to be a great signing for Leicester City.
Within his first two appearances for the club, Faes has shown his brilliance. In those two games he recorded eight recoveries, five clearances, two interceptions, and a block. On top of those defensive numbers, Faes has won seven out of his 10 aerial duals.
Not only has the Belgian been fantastic defensively, but he’s been great at passing as well. In his two games with the club, he has completed 133 of his 156 accurate passes. With Rodgers’ defensive line and midfielders struggling to get the ball to our attackers this season, a centre-back who can complete 85% of his accurate passes is game-changing.
Faes provides much more to the squad than statistical numbers. He brings an aggressive playstyle that the backline had been lacking the whole season. He brings the passion that the backline had been lacking this whole season. Against Nottingham Forrest, you will see him send his body into tackles at full speed. He is reminiscent of David Luiz due to his playing-style and hairstyle.
His style of play also makes a perfect pairing with the captain, Jonny Evans. While Faes is quicker than Evans, both play aggressively and make key tackles. the former is more willing to throw his whole body into a tackle while Evans will keep it on the feet.
It is likely the pair will quickly create a chemistry together but Faes already has a lot of experience with teammates. Faes is a regular in the Belgium National team and Leicester has a ton of players from Belgium on the side. Youri Tielemans, Timothy Castagne, and Dennis Praet are not only Belgians on the Leicester squad, but they’re Belgians who play on the internationally as well.
Despite only being the age 24, Faes is oozing with experience. He may have experience with some of the Belgium internationals, but he brings much more experience than that to the team. Faes first become a consistent starter at the age of 20 when he was signed by the Belgian side Oostende. Before that, he was getting occasional appearances for sides in the Eredivisie.
Faes would play two seasons with Oostende before being sold to League One side Stade de Reims. He would play two seasons with the squad before he was sold to LCFC this summer. At just the age of 24, Faes has international experience, Premier League experience, League One experience, Belgian league experience and Eredivisie experience. Faes has been all over the world and that gives him so much experience despite his age.
The Belgian has the experience you want out of a young player. Now Rodgers and the staff just have to focus on getting the most out of their player. His potential has already made him a cult hero for the Leicester fanbase. Now, it’s time for him to become a world-class talent.
Despite only signing for the team in September, Faes is proving to be a great signing for the Foxes. He played fantastic in his two outings with the team which has built a foundation of confidence throughout the fanbase.
There is more to get excited about than just his stats. His play style is aggressive and mesmerizing to watch. Plus, Faes is not just another soccer player who is just young. Faes is young at the age of 24 yet he already has so making experience. This is so important to remember that an experienced youngster is out on the pitch rather than a youth player with no experience.
Faes blends into the squad perfectly. Being a Belgian international has helped him build chemistry with the rest of the Belgians on the team. His playing-style is also perfect to play alongside the captain, Evans.
Just months ago there was panic about Leicester not having a young center-back to believe in. Those thoughts are no longer affecting the club or the fans. Wout Faes has been a great signing for Leicester City!