Leicester City coach Ben Petty has hinted that young midfielder Will Alves could feature for the first team before the end of the season.
The 18-year-old has already made two appearances for the senior squad, with both coming in 2022. However, at academy level, Alves has emerged as one of the hottest up-and-coming talents at Seagrave, exemplified by his multiple appearances for England’s youth teams.
Unfortunately, momentum would be derailed as suffered an ACL injury in December 2022, where he was sidelined for over a year. This injury possibly robbed the midfielder of more first-team football.
Upon return, Alves has featured for the Leicester City under-21 in Premier League 2 action. Whilst getting up to speed, the youngster has continued his great performances, picking up a goal against Crystal Palace.
In his most recent appearance against Stoke City, he once again impressed, with two assists in three minutes as part of a 3-0 win for the Foxes.
Will Alves in action for the LCFC under 21s last night ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/eTIUNEaggD
— Leicester City Xtra. (@XtraLeicester) April 16, 2024
He was withdrawn in the 60th minute, a decision which academy coach Ben Petty says was planned. Speaking to Wilby Toothill, the 47-year-old said:
“We want to keep him fresh for the first team as well [where he can] hopefully maybe get some action before the end of the season.”
Addressing the win to official club media, Petty said:
“It was a great performance tonight. We started really well like we wanted to and you could see the confidence come back into the players and I’m delighted with a 3-0 win.
“We’ve talked over the course of the season about not being clinical enough in either box and at times the xG of the games show we should’ve been on top but we haven’t been.
“Today you saw in the first five minutes two really good pieces of skill from Will (Alves) and good finishes from Oli (Ewing) which is what we needed, to stick the ball in the back of the net and keep it closed at the other end.”
Leicester currently sit second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Ipswich Town. However, they do have a game in hand and host West Bromwich Albion at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Writer’s View
For Will Alves, any minutes before the end of the season are key for him to impress. With the club under financial constraints and potentially needing to sell, homegrown players will be needed more than ever. An alternative analysis would be that giving him minutes so deep into the season in these circumstances is unfair. Enzo Maresca’s side has been poor lately, is an 18-year-old going to solve the issues?
Overall, the midfielder is extremely talented and should be given a chance, but he should either wait until next season’s cup competitions or until the final day of this season, should their promotion fate already be decided.
Be the first to comment