Rodgers explains why Faes is such a good signing

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers explains why Wout Faes is such a top signing for the Foxes after another solid display, this time in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

The narrowest of scorelines got the better of Leicester, but the Citizens were at least assured and dominant on the ball for huge swathes of the contest at King Power Stadium. Especially in the first half we witnessed the inoffensive sheer arrogance of quality on the ball from the visitors. Pep Guardiola certainly has the best team again this Premier League season – and that was without the awe-inspiring Norwegian goalscorer extraordinaire, Erling Haaland.

In the second half, eventually, Brendan Rodgers took the handbrake off. Or, in his opinion: went into a different gear of game management around 70 minutes or so. The introduction of attacking duo Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho, also at that moment, aided a push in intensity and forward-thinking intention.

Creativity increased at this time, too, as players like James Maddison were finally given licence to dictate in the final third of the pitch. Man City didn’t sit back, though, and looked generally comfortable for their slender lead. Aside from Youri Tielemans’ elegant volley from a training ground set-piece, Leicester didn’t get that near to scoring. Iheanacho, Daka, Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes all could have done better with chances at differing stages of the encounter.

Irrespective of defeat, there is actually much more to be content about if you happen to be a Foxes fan these days. The very recent doom and gloom has evaporated somewhat, although Rodgers must keep collecting points when playing lesser sides, and when similaly matched. Two areas of the LCFC side that are doing much better overall is the goalkeeper and defence. Wout Faes is a notable of late.

Brendan Rodgers explains why Leicester City’s Wout Faes is a top signing

Faes’ introduction and entry into the firing line at Leicester was as swift as he is into the challenge. Even when the east Midlands club were going through a particularly difficult patch of form this campaign, the Belgian stood out as one of the better performers. And this hasn’t gone unnoticed with the Northern Irishman:

"Faes looking like a bargain?“Coming in so late in the window, he’s [Faes has] settled in really well. He’s a good player. He’s well educated in football and that’s what’s allowed him to settle in. He’s a leader and you don’t see so many in the modern game, but he genuinely is a guy who wants to lead on the field. His biggest attribute is that he loves to defend. He defends forward, he’s aggressive. And he can play football, he understands his passes. At 24, he can do really well here.”Leicestershire Live"