Despite a wobble towards the end of the campaign, Leicester City were finally crowned champions after a long, grueling season.
Huge changes were needed after a dreadful Premier League season for the Foxes. Enzo Maresca came in with a new philosophy, moulded from his time at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. This system brought possession-based football with many new roles.
Ricardo Pereira took up the inverted full-back role, moving into midfield when in possession. In addition, the other full-back moved across, creating a back-three. Then, when defending, the side would revert to a traditional back-four. Along with this change, the goalkeeper would become integral and acted as another outfield player.
The Issue
Huge success would be seen earlier in the season, creating a gap as large as 11 points at the top of the table. This would be short lived and issues would start to form. An underlying issue of the backline is their lack of pace.
This was a prevalent issue in many games such as Chelsea in the FA Cup or Blackburn Rovers at home. Attackers like Nicolas Jackson and Sammie Szmodics utilised their pace and could easily get in behind.
Goodnight, Leicester 💙 pic.twitter.com/EH0Fphs5Mb
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 5, 2024
Vestergaard and Faes are predominantly deployed together with Doyle or Justin. This selection occasionally creates major issues and has caused many losses like the previously mentioned games.
Furthermore, the 2023/24 campaign saw many late goals conceded, leading to dropping of potentially major points. Evidence to suggest this is 15 of the 41 goals conceded arriving in the last 15 minutes. This could be due to a lack of leadership and concentration when it comes to grinding out results.
Conor Coady
Conor Coady was bought by Enzo Maresca at the start of the current campaign. The 31-year-old brought a colossal amount of experience at both Premier League and international level.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man made the England squad for the 2022 World Cup following a string of great performances. With all these accolades and his great leadership, he has to be an option.
Ben Nelson
A further option for the centre-back role is academy graduate Ben Nelson. After an impressive first season, the 20-year-old could be an effective choice for the Foxes’ campaign.
Calm and composed on the ball, the youngster excels with his talent in duels. Nelson provides a different option to the veteran and more experienced defenders like Faes and Vestergaard.
The pace and mobility of the Englishman, coupled with the leadership of Coady, is a great option and worked well in FA Cup clashes with Birmingham City and Millwall.
Conclusion
With the Premier League ahead, any changes will be necessary to survive. The current partnership lacks the pace to deal with some of the world’s best attackers. By not making a change, Enzo Maresca could steer his side into another relegation.
It could be a busy summer at the King Power Stadium as they look to cement their place in the top tier. Their relegation last year was a major shock, although they will be keen to avoid a similar scenario.
