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Why Leicester City should keep Hamza Choudhury

By Joey LeMaster

Hamza Choudhury of Leicester City reacts during the Pre-Season friendly game between Northampton Town and Leicester City at Sixfields on July 15, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Hamza Choudhury of Leicester City reacts during the Pre-Season friendly game between Northampton Town and Leicester City at Sixfields on July 15, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images) /
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With the English Football League season quickly approaching, Leicester City has found themselves in a pickle. What in the world should they do with Hamza Choudhury this upcoming season?

The 25-year-old defensive midfielder spent last season on loan at Watford. While playing for them in the Championship, he made 36 appearances in the league where he didn’t record a goal or an assist. However, the Leicester fans know that his strengths aren’t shown on the offensive end; those best attributes are visible on the defensive side of the pitch.

Last season for Watford he recorded 81 interceptions and won 62% of his tackle attempts. This helped him receive an average match rating of 7.13 on FotMob. So how does Enzo Maresca and the staff approach this situation? Do they keep Choudhury or sell him? The only correct answer is to keep him. There is a wide variety of reasons for why he should stay with the Foxes.

Firstly, Choudhury won’t bring in a ton of money if he were to be sold. So his potential sale would almost provide nothing to our transfer budget. Also with James Maddison being sold for a high fee and Harvey Barnes soon to follow, do the East Midlands team need to stress getting a higher transfer budget? Especially with a player who can help the squad. Some players may need to be sold to simply cut the salary wage. Choudhury does not make a high salary. So there is no point in selling him for that reason.

Secondly, Choudhury provides versatility for the squad. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Yet he can still play as a central midfielder and even as a defender. There are a lot more games played in the second tier of English football compared to the first tier. Having depth is an absolute must in this league. A player with the versatility of the Englishmen would be massive for Maresca and his Leicester side.

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We’ve also seen the 25-year-old have success in the Championship. As sad as this may be to say, we don’t know how much some of our players care about playing in the EFL. Some players are bound to not play the caliber of football they did in the EPL. It has already been proven that Choudhury will give his full passion in this level of play. That also happened at Watford. Now imagine the effort that will be seen from a player trying to get his boyhood club promoter back to the Premier League. Choudhury is an absolute must to have on the team next season.