Enzo Maresca’s squad rebuild could be about to take a hit as one of his favoured midfielders may still leave Leicester City. Four games into the Maresca era, it feels as if the Italian knows which midfielders he wants to keep at the club, but his hands could yet be forced as the transfer links to Dennis Praet refuse to die down.
Coming into the season, Praet was one player who many fans had expected to leave. The Belgian is currently in the last 12 months of his contract at LCFC and was reluctant to play in the Championship following the club’s damning relegation.
However, after Maresca’s arrival, expectation changed as the manager frequently used Praet in pre-season with the 29-year-old impressing. In the season opener against Coventry City, Praet’s arrival off the bench signalled the Foxes’ comeback; he set up the equaliser with a gorgeous cross to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and improved the overall quality of the play going forward.
He then started the next two games against Burton Albion and Huddersfield before being absent from the squad against Cardiff City. Eyebrows were initially raised when Praet missed out – Maresca has made a point of not including the likes of Patson Daka, Timothy Castagne or Boubakary Soumare in his matchday squads whilst they all seek moves away from the King Power – but the manager calmed nerves when his absence was revealed to be from a small injury.
After seeing several games of ‘Maresca-ball’, fans and pundits have noticed how key the No.8 role is for the Italian. He is seemingly settled on the options at his behest, with Praet, Harry Winks, Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei natural No.8s. Meanwhile the new boss has moulded both Wilfred Ndidi’s and Hamza Choudhury’s game to play further up the field, whilst Ricardo Pereira also slots into that role.
Notably, whilst listing his options in midfield, Maresca stated that ‘Dennis has probably a little more quality than the others’, unsurprising given that Praet has made 15 senior appearances for Belgium, playing with and learning from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, and Eden Hazard. It’s understood that Maresca isn’t expecting to sign any other midfielders in the window and has now set his sights on improving his attacking options.
Why would Dennis Praet leave Leicester City?
A major factor in a potential exit for Praet is the Belgian national team. Once a frequent inclusion for the wider squad, the midfielder last played for his country in November 2022 and was snubbed for the World Cup.
Ever since his arrival to the East Midlands in 2019, Praet has struggled for regular minutes and starts, more often being used for cup competitions rather than successive league games. Partially down to unfortunate injuries, the main reason was the quality ahead of him in the squad. The likes of James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Ayoze Perez and Ndidi were all firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.
Keen to get a run of games under his belt, and out of Brendan Rodgers’ favour, Praet was loaned to Torino in the Serie A, a competition he was familiar with due to his previous experience at Sampdoria. On the pitch he was excellent and quickly became one of the first names on the team sheet. Unfortunately, his time in Italy saw him plagued with injury. Suffering five separate setbacks, Praet was on the sidelines for 112 days, missing a combined 23 games. He ended that season having played 24 games, scoring twice and assisting a further two.
Despite being largely absent for portions of his loan spell, Torino have been very keen on signing Praet permanently ever since he returned back to the King Power. A move would have happened, if not for Torino’s bids not meeting Leicester City’s expectations.
A transfer could be creeping closer now, however, with Torino recently selling defender Wilfried Singo to Monaco for a reported £8.6m, they now have funds to pursue a deal if they so wanted. With the Belgian set to leave for free next season, it wouldn’t take a huge bid to secure his services this summer. That being said, Torino have already signed Ivan Ilic and Nikola Vlasic this summer – both play in the advanced midfield that Praet enjoys, so a move for him may not be a priority.
Praet himself now faces a tough choice. Does he try and push for a move away to Italy in order to guarantee himself a fresh start and frequent games, or does he stay with the Foxes under a manager who clearly rates him. With a place at Euro 2024 up for grabs, the Belgian must decide which path is best for his career.