Premier League 2018/19 review: Leicester pick right coach in Rodgers
After almost eight months of suggestions Claude Puel was on the brink at Leicester, the Foxes finally made the call and dismissed the Frenchman at the end of February. There were reports as early as the end of last season claiming Puel’s relationship with the squad had strained, so he did well to last as long as he did.
Leicester didn’t waste any time identifying his replacement, offering Brendan Rodgers a way back to the Premier League for the first time since he was sacked as Liverpool boss in October 2015. The appeal of Leicester was so great that Rodgers turned down the chance of winning a third successive treble with Celtic to take over at the King Power Stadium immediately.
Rodgers collected 17 points from his 10 league matches, only four clubs picked up more in that period, and got the best out of players like Jamie Vardy, who scored nine goals in those games. The Foxes enjoyed a four-game winning in that time, their best run in the competition since November to December 2017. All in all, Leicester finished below their pre-season objective of seventh but have a hugely exciting group of young players for Rodgers to work with next season.
Top rated player – Ricardo Pereira (7.34)
Ricardo Pereira finished his maiden campaign in England in the WhoScored Team of the Season in the Premier League, edging Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold due to a superior amount of games played.
The 25-year-old had previously been linked with a move to Tottenham before joining the Foxes and he has been worth every penny of his €25m move, even sweeping up at the club’s end of season awards ceremony.
Pereira played in a variety of positions before settling in at right-back under Rodgers. Only Crystal Palace starlet Aaron Wan-Bissaka (129) completed more tackles than Pereira (118) of all defenders in the Premier League this season, while completing more dribbles than any other defender (68).
The Portugal international scored two goals and provided six assists, while only Everton’s Lucas Digne (7.36) garnered a higher WhoScored rating than Pereira (7.34) in the Premier League this season of all summer signings.
Biggest Disappointment – Demarai Gray
There will soon come a point where people will have to stop calling Demarai Gray a talent. It’s a throwaway line that only allows for greater complacency. Gray has just completed his third full Premier League campaign and consistency is still lacking from his game.
The 22-year-old made 34 league appearances for Leicester this season and only returned four goals and one assist. His WhoScored rating has improved year-on-year in the Premier League, but at just 6.51 this season, it is hardly inspiring.
However, when you factor his WhoScored rating from starts alone, Gray’s rating has actually decreased across the three seasons, from 6.88 in 2016/17 to 6.63 this term. With Harvey Barnes back at the club following a successful loan spell at West Brom, Gray faces an even tougher task to prove his worth at the King Power Stadium.
Surprise Package – Hamza Choudhury
Leicester have a squad littered with young talent but the most exciting to emerge this season is arguably youth product Hamza Choudhury. A mark of Brendan Rodgers’ faith in the 21-year-old is that he started the midfielder in Leicester’s final three games of the season, against Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Choudhury did his reputation no harm at all in those matches and was particularly eye-catching in Leicester’s 1-0 defeat to City in their penultimate game of the season. Considering five of Choudhury’s seven league starts this season were against top-six opposition, it’s remarkable that Leicester had a superior win ratio in league matches that Choudhury started (57.1%) compared to games when he didn’t feature from the off (35.5%).
While it would be a blow if Leicester fail to prolong Youri Tielemans’ loan spell at the club, it would only open up more opportunities for Choudhury. He is certainly one to watch at the King Power Stadium next season.
Where to Improve – Competition for Vardy
Brendan Rodgers has already made it clear he wants to transform Jamie Vardy into his version of Luis Suarez from his days managing Liverpool, but at the age of 32, time is not on Vardy’s side.
The former England international did superbly well to finish the campaign with 18 league goals this season but a lack of any real alternative will be a concern for Rodgers ahead of next season.
Leicester have already confirmed Shinji Okazaki will leave the club this summer, while big money signing Kelechi Iheanacho will arguably go down as one of the club’s worst ever buys. Leicester have players like Gray that can operate centrally but an out-an-out striker should be on Rodgers’ summer wish list.
League Position: 9th
Grade: C
