Foxes of Leicester
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Who’s to blame for Leicester relegation? Part 5: centrebacks

By Damon Carter

Wout Faes of Leicester City reacts during the Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United at The King Power Stadium on May 28, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Wout Faes of Leicester City reacts during the Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United at The King Power Stadium on May 28, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City
Harry Souttar of Leicester City in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leicester City at St. James Park on May 22, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) /

Harry Souttar – Games (12) – Goals (0)

One of the very few things the East Midlands side did right this season was poach a young strong centre-back from Stoke City in the January transfer window. Following an impressive World Cup, Souttar started life strongly with two back-to-back wins despite an early debut own goal at Villa Park.

His physicality hides a controlled and considered approach to defending. But too often particularly in the games between February and April he was relied on as the last line of defence in a race with a pacy striker. Wout Faes tended to step up and leave Souttar exposed against a striker with a clean run in on goal. This will need much more work if any kind of partnership is to blossom into the new season.

Dean Smith wasn’t too keen on Souttar, playing him only three times in the final eight games, but with one of them being a man-of-the-match display at Newcastle. This is definitely a player that will help Leicester City in the Championship if they are to turn their fortunes around.

Daniel Amartey – Games (24) – Goals (0)

It has been seven years since the Ghanaian international arrived in the East Midlands, it is likely he will be leaving this summer, but he leaves as a Premier League, FA Cup and community shield champion. We all know Amartey has mainly been used as a utility man in his Leicester City career and most definitely too much this season.

Trademark dodgy back-passes continue to leave goalkeepers in a state of panic along with his rash tackling and questionable decision-making. Amartey has never failed to put in any less than maximum effort but he seems to daydream and dither in matches as was exposed in the early days of the season where he was constantly at fault for many opponents being unmarked and free to cause problems.

His main struggle is playing the ball out from the back, which is ironic considering that is Brendan Rodgers main style of play. With a certain Turkish international ignored this season, it does seem odd that Rodgers would pin his hopes on ‘Big Dan’, almost like he was happy to see the season go up in smoke. Surely a manager wouldn’t deliberately sabotage his own club to make a point?