3 Things we learned as Leicester brushed aside Wolves

Wout Faes starting to look the part for Leicester City

When a new acquisition arrives at a club, it’s very easy to fall into the temptation of making instinctive conclusions based on a small amount of minutes about their ability. Five games full matches into his time at the King Power, there’s now a big enough sample size to assess the impact that Wout Faes has had.

Before the Belgian’s arrival late on in the transfer window, there was a full-on crisis brewing at Leicester City, which was exacerbated after his first outing, where he was part of a defence that shipped an unforgivable six goals away at Tottenham. This showing, combined with his errors for both goals in defeat at Bournemouth have meant it has not been the smoothest of starts to Premier League life for the former Reims man.

However, the other three fixtures in which he has played have seen City keep their only three clean sheets of the season. Amidst all of the chaos in late August with Wesley Fofana’s antics and all the embarrassing defeats, Faes’ arrival might just have signalled a semblance of calmness and stability, although we didn’t know it at the time.

We didn’t know it at all, partly because most of the Youtube compilations with the defender showed him mercilessly going through opposition attackers during his time in Ligue 1. What Faes’ inclusion in the starting eleven has done is bring out some confidence in those around him – James Justin looks calmer and more assured, while Timothy Castagne appears to be playing more adventurously knowing he has a safe presence behind him.

The aggression still exists in his game, as referenced against Wolves, but it has been channeled in a positive way – coming tight and manhandling his opponent when necessary, and bailing out his fellow defenders with a strong but fair challenge. Mistakes will always come, but his playing style will always endear him to City supporters giving the impression that he is playing for the shirt.