How Steve Cooper enhances Leicester's underutilised wingers

How Steve Cooper has enhanced Abdul Fatawu

Despite not being quite a clinical talent, Cooper has been working to alter how Fatawu plays his game for the Foxes. To better understand this, we need to recognise where the player initially offered promise and where the developments were needed as we moved from EFL Championship football to Premier League matches.

The right-winger is an exciting, energetic talent that has oodles of pace, an instinctive explosiveness, and a real knack for irritating defenders. Under Enzo Maresca, the Championship stood almost zero chance of stopping the player from slashing his way through defenders and working with Vardy to pounce on slow players and swift movements.

However, alongside this was waste. Pushing past opposition when no one else was in any position to support an attack, or slicing goalwards due to a seeming fear of passing back, or even a pass into no man's land for - again - a fear of passing back when there are no options forward. These were not good traits and often led to chances for the opposition on the Foxes' goal.

Therefore, when moving into the Premier League, one of the key things to improve would be to counterbalance his aggressive instincts with a more measured and level-headed approach. Steve Cooper has been working on this aspect.

For example, in the match against Southampton - where Fatawu achieved an assist - we saw a player who was not simply out there to try his luck at goal. We saw a teamplayer looking to support the team wherever possible. This included significantly more running back to cover the right-back position where James Justin has recently been overloaded with numerical advantages creating chances. The Ghanaian has started tracking back and challenging the opposition for the ball.

This is versatility. This is a critical element for a winger in the Premier League: they have to be able to do more than just have shots at goal. They have got to be more level-headed and decisive. Fatawu is choosing his moments better, timing his explosiveness better, and generally supporting the team more.