Leicester City remain locked in a relegation battle after seasons of challenging big teams. Here are the three players we must rely on for survival.
The Foxes are in dire straits. There are accusations of players not being good enough, of the coach not being good enough, and even of the board not being adventurous enough. Clearly, there are those who are playing poorly. Yet, here are those who are the opposite: the players we can rely on.
I shall be calling upon the statistical resources of FB Ref, SofaScore, and SmarterScout to illustrate the key points around these players. However, these will always be personal opinion first, so please let Foxes of Leicester know your picks through our social media channels.
Leicester City’s Harry Souttar
An absolute no brainer of a choice. For the King Power club, the problem actually has not been scoring – we have been fairly alright in terms of scoring (comparatively to our defensive output). It has been our ability, or lack thereof, in preventing lethal chances on goal where Danny Ward is not capable of pulling of miracles. So, the defenders are the key.
January signing Harry Souttar has been a revolution at the back. Memories of Harry Maguire, the style of Jonny Evans, the build of a tall Adama Traore. ‘Souts’ is a brilliant addition to Leicester and truly an obvious choice for this list.
The Aussie actually has less tackles and interceptions when compared to other defenders, but his style is completely different to that. As FB Ref illustrates, he is rated in the 99th percentile for aerial duels won and 94th for blocks. Souttar offers aerial dominance and a composed head to stand firm and make no silly challenges which expose the team.
On the opposite end, that aerial dominance translates to an exceptional expected goals accumulation. 99th percentile for that, which is set at around 1.11xG by SofaScore. The Foxes can rely on the player to take floated opportunities from corners, free kicks, and even in open play. Perhaps Leicester should play the Australian international upfront with Kelechi Iheanacho and go for a blast from the past.
Souttar must start and must perform well for the King Power club. Brendan Rodgers can rely on the player to prevent goals and to occasionally score goals.
Kelechi Iheanacho
’Seniorman Kelz’. Kelechi Iheanacho as always been seen as a talent not well-suited to the Jamie Vardy style of play the Foxes had employed for so long. So, the Nigerian striker has been left on the sidelines; that is until now.
With seven starts in the league but a total of 21 appearances, he has scored three goals, assisted four, though he has missed five big chances. There is more room for the Nigerian international to contribute, and even then we can say the chances create have not necessarily been clear cut. I trust the striker in future matches of course.
Additionally, SmarterScout illustrate the player as having some of the best ball retention, shooting propensity, and team link-up stylistic preferences. This means Iheanacho can play a critical role in creating chances, retaining pressure, and creating opportunities for others. The Foxes can only benefit from versatile attackers that can offer it all.
Victor Kristiansen
Victor Kristiansen has been another godsend from the January transfer window. Clearly, he has been superior in every way to all our other options at left-back. He has played only four matches and yet has been such an important impression on us.
The Dane is in the 99th percentile for both tackles and blocks. This defender is positionally excellent, stylistically perfect, and truly offers everything we have been missing. 80% dribble success rate, 66% defensive challenge success rate. Kristiansen is unlucky as well not to have an assist, and is unlucky to have gotten injured when he did.
I fully expect Brendan Rodgers to start picking the player as soon as possible. The Danish defender cannot be out of the team when they have those sorts of defensive stats against teams such as Tottenham Hotspurs and Aston Villa. He also offered some of the better plays against Manchester United.