Leicester’s improved starting XI with ideal signings and returning stars

A midfield to be proud of

The midfield is where games are won and lost. To lose control of this is to allow the opposition straight at the heart of your defence, exposing vulnerabilities and creating cascading issues where your team cannot progress, defend, or score. You have got to have a great midfield. Once upon a time, Leicester had Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, and James Maddison: the most balanced midfield you can hope for.

Unfortunately, one of them have dropped off a cliff, another does not want to be here, and another is slowly becoming injury prone. The Nigerian defensive midfielder and Belgian ‘thinker’ are excluded from our ideal XI: we need a player who can retain, not just gain possession, and a player who actually wants to be here in the coming years.

‘Madders’ however is an automatic inclusion. I do not think there is much to say as to why he is the best option: one of the highest goals + assists in the league alongside a passing excellence. Beyond this, there are few players you would want on a direct free kick than Maddison. Clearly, the English attacking-midfielder offers everything one could want from the creative core of a side.

Outside of that, Boubakary Soumare and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall make it into the ideal XI. ‘KDH’ is our most progressive and high-octane box-to-box player, so including the academy graduate and future captain is equally a no-brainier. He can pass, score goals, and he can lead a defence from the front. You need him in the side.

The French midfielder is a possessive force. From ball carrying to smart passing, Soumare helps the King Power club to retain possession and recycle it effectively out to the wings. The wings are where our danger lies, so a player who can control the passing back and wide is invaluable to a team striving to impose their vision on the game. Rodgers would be incompetent to not include ‘Bouba’ in the side.