Two Leicester Players Who Have To Step Up Their Performances Following The International Break
Leicester City decided to part ways with their former assistant coach Craig Shakespeare a few weeks earlier and wasted no time in bringing Claude Puel to the club. The former Southampton manager started in fine fashion, with a victory over Everton last week but was held to a dab draw by Stoke City away from home, just before the international break.
The Foxes are slowly climbing up the points table, and are currently placed 12th. Lack of consistency from other clubs will give them a chance to fight for a place in Europe but Puel will need all his players to be at their best for the rest of the campaign.
There are a number of players currently struggling at the club and here are two such players who need to step up, if Leicester are to fight for a top-7 place:
Kelechi Iheanacho
The former Manchester City youngster joined Leicester City this summer and he was expected to be the perfect strike-partner for English international Jamie Vardy at the King Power Stadium. However, the 21-year-old is yet to pick up a goal or an assist in 8 appearances in the domestic league this season and has left his club stranded on more than one occasion.
The Foxes have been decent at the back but have failed to break down opponents and Iheanacho has to step up his game if they are to beat the lower sides in the competition. The Foxes will struggle against teams with more quality but with the likes of Vardy and Iheanacho, they should be beating most other clubs, something that has not happened this season. Surely, the youngster needs to improve his game quickly.
Islam Slimani
The Algerian striker made a sizzling start to the season but he slowly fell out of favour under former manager Shakespeare. He seems to have lost his confidence. He is so out of favour that he has been linked with a January exit. However, his skill and finishing ability are something Leicester will miss if they sell him.
Tailor-made for the Premier League, Slimani has just one assist to show for in his 6 league appearances and needs to show more conviction when given the chances. Puel will assess his situation and is expected to push him back into the first-team but the fact that two attackers at the King Power need to improve their quality shows that the Foxes are seriously struggling in the final third.
Slimani needs to step up his game to solve this issue.