Heading into the international break, Leicester City has several key players starting to feel the heat, and it might not be just the managerial axe that’s looming over. Manager Martí Cifuentes has stuck by his regulars despite a run of questionable form, but the patience of the club’s fans is wearing thin.
After all this is a team aiming to bounce right back into the Premier Leagueand it’s getting increasingly hard to justify the performances of several under-performing regulars.
Patson Daka
Patson Daka is staring down a break from the middle of a pretty bleak spell. The Zambian striker still hasn’t managed to score in the Championship this season, and of Leicester’s front three, only Jordan Ayew has a couple of league goals to his name.
The absence of Jamie Vardy’s experience has really left a big hole in the attack. Without his movement and finishing ability, Leicester’s forward line has struggled to find any sort of rhythm and the rest of the front three are starting to look a bit disjointed, leaving Daka out on a limb, struggling with his confidence.
He’s still putting in a lot of effort but going without results is only making things harder for him. If he can’t get back on the scoresheet soon, people will start wondering whether this is just a longer-term issue for him at Leicester.
Julián Carranza
Signed on loan to shake things up, Julián Carranza has yet to make a real impact for Leicester. He was meant to bring a spark to the team with his Argentine flair, but so far he’s just not clicking.
The Argentine forward has failed to put the ball in the back of the net in the Championship, and his influence on the team’s play has been pretty minor — not exactly what Leicester were looking for in a forward.
It’s no surprise then that the fans are starting to wonder if signing him was a good idea. Now and then Carranza looks like he’s on the move, showing some real hustle, but without any end result it’s just hard to see him getting much playing time. With the international break now here, he gets a chance to sort himself out, but his chances of staying in the starting line-up are dwindling.
Jannik Vestergaard
At the other end Jannik Vestergaard is a lightning rod for criticism. He’s been solid in bits, clearing his lines well, but individual errors and inconsistent positioning have undermined Leicester’s defence.
Ironically his goal tally in the league is the same as the combined total of the three centre forwards — a measure of the imbalance between attack and defence. He’s been blamed in match reports for lack of awareness and erratic decision-making which has directly led to the Foxes' late concessions. As one of the senior players in the back line his leadership is being questioned as much as his form.
Leicester City’s international break comes at a bad time. With promotion still in sight but momentum stalled, the next few weeks will decide if Daka, Carranza and Vestergaard can get back in the team (or keep their place, as with the Dane) or drop further down the pecking order. The margin for error is smaller and the spotlight is brighter.