Leicester City – A Club On The Rise

Leicester City’s positive start to the season comes off the back of another impressive result from the weekend against Newcastle. The 5-0 thrashing is their fourth win of the season out of the opening seven games in the league.

Goals came from in-form right back Ricardo Pereira, midfield powerhouse Wilfried Ndidi, two from Jamie Vardy and an own goal from Newcastle full back Paul Dummett.

The Foxes have only registered one loss so far this season at the hands of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United, thanks to an early Marcus Rashford penalty.

Boasting an incredible squad of talent, Leicester are starting to show all the signs of a team ready to knock on the door of the traditional top six and disrupt the Premier League hierarchy.

Brendan Rodgers appointment as manager on the 26th February earlier this year turned a lot of heads and seemed like an excellent replacement for the caretaker management duo of now first team coach and goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler.

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Rodgers was tempted away from the Scottish League and former club Celtic, where he had his most fruitful period for trophies wining the Scottish Cup twice, the Scottish League Cup three times and winning the league itself twice.

Celtic were the first club Rodgers found honours with but still was regarded as a top level manager due to his work at Liverpool in a season where the Reds finished only two points behind Premier League winners for that season, Manchester City.

The appointment was well thought out, with Rodgers proving he was more than ready to migrate back into the Premier League and show what he has to offer.

The Foxes bolstered an already impressive Premier League squad with the permanent signing of the Belgian midfield maestro Youri Tielemans for £40.5 million.

He featured in the squad last year on loan from Monaco and registered seven goal contributions in his 13 Premier League, three goals and four assists. So far this season Tielemans has already gained a goal and an assist in the opening seven games.

The Midland giants also secured the signing of Tielemans’ fellow countryman and former teammate Dennis Praet, who arrived from Sampdoria, alongside Ayoze Perez and James Justin from Newcastle and Luton respectively.

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Registering 12 goals in the Premier League last season in 37 appearances for a struggling Newcastle side, the signing of Perez certainly turned a few heads. Adding more depth and top flight experience to the team, it could turn out to be a crucial signing if he can find his form.

With an ageing Jamie Vardy and a struggling Kelechi Iheanacho the only other strikers on Leicester’s books, the Spanish forward could help Leicester reach the next level of football they are seeking.

Leicester are currently in possession of some of the best and most sought after talents in the Premier League. Star man Harry Maguire departed this summer to join struggling side Manchester United, for a fee of around £80 million. His departure has done little to affect the side though.

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His vacant position was filled by Çaglar Söyüncü, a 23 year old Turkish centre back who was signed last season from German side SC Freiburg for £18.99 million. Since his regular inclusion in the team, he is beginning to look like a an ideal replacement for Maguire with his respectable 68 per cent tackle success rate.

The Foxes also seem to have an exceptional talent in 22-year-old midfielder and England International, James Maddison.

The ex-Norwich star was poached by Leicester, warding off interest from the rest of the top six. Signed at the time for £22.5 million, Maddison’s value has risen significantly due to his amazing performances on the pitch.

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With other talents like Ricardo Pereira, Ben Chilwell and Wilfried Ndidi all being looked at by clubs within the top six, it is hard to deny the level of quality that Leicester currently have. However, with the undeniable growing quality that Leicester seem to be gaining it is evident these players will not leave cheaply with Rodgers repeatedly confirming the club have no pressure to sell.

If the Foxes keep up a level of consistency they’ve demonstrated early on in the league, with big performances against the top six, it won’t be long before they find themselves back in European football.

Leicester face Champions League winners Liverpool, at 15:00 on Saturday at Anfield in what could turn out to be one of the best fixtures so far this season.