Leicester City will hope their ongoing quest to replace Enzo Maresca doesn't stretch on for too long, knowing that they need to start adding players to their squad soon ahead of a season back in the top flight.
A large majority of the current Foxes camp, who are just fresh off being crowned as Championship title-winners, have tasted Premier League football before, however, with the likes of Jamie Vardy even boasting a Premier League winners medal on his mantelpiece, alongside that more recent second-tier success.
That means Maresca's replacement won't have his work cut out too much entering into the hot seat, knowing that the squad is littered with top talents already, but one major frontrunner for the King Power Stadium vacancy could get more out of a particular member of Leicester's defence, if appointed.
Leicester narrowing down their hunt for a new manager
Many different outlets have now reported that Graham Potter is the standout name the powers that be at Leicester want as their next boss, with a toss-up between the ex-Chelsea boss and Steve Cooper forming according to Football Insider.
Potter might well need some convincing to take on the Leicester vacancy, however, as the newly promoted side wait it out to see if the 49-year-old does want to take on the reins or not, with the precarious situation at Manchester United now settled, which Potter was previously in the running for.
If they are finally successful in their approach for the in-demand manager, players such as Wout Faes could be boosted by this news, having witnessed what the former Brighton boss did with Lewis Dunk when in charge of the Seagulls.
Dunk now finds himself in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the forthcoming Euros off the back of Potter's time on the South Coast, and so Faes will want to shine in a similar fashion for the East Midlands side next campaign, having found his introduction to Premier League football tricky under previous management.
How Potter could get the best out of Faes
The 6 foot 2 defender was always going to be expected to immediately set the world alight when joining from Stade De Reims in 2022, relocating to England for a bumper £15m.
It was somewhat of a disappointing debut season for the £50k-per-week signing therefore, not helped obviously by Leicester slipping down to the Championship during this same campaign, with the 26-year-old keeping just seven clean sheets from 31 contests.
Stat – per 90 mins*
Faes
Games played
43
Goals scored
2
Assists
0
Touches*
90.2
Pass accuracy*
90%
Clean sheets
14
Yet, making the drop-down, Faes has excelled – as can be seen when glancing at the table above – and will strive to continue being an "aggressive" gem, as he was labelled by Gary Lineker, when venturing back up to the Premier League.
Potter could be the exact manager the Belgian needs to truly help him come into his own in the top division, therefore, with the ex-Brighton boss turning Dunk into a fantastic performer in the elite division, having gifted the now 32-year-old the captain's armband on his arrival in 2019.
The England international would go on to shine after his manager's decision to gift him these duties, picking up three goals and three assists from the back during his first campaign as captain, whilst nearly matching Faes' passing accuracy total at 87% across his stellar 33 matches.
Even stating that he was "proud" of Dunk back in 2021, for how much he had seen his game be elevated under his management, Potter will hope he can have a similar transformative impact on Faes soon, who will want to kick on after an excellent second-tier campaign.
Leicester still eyeing Potter alternative who could be perfect for Justin
Leicester City look to be closing in on Enzo Maresca’s successor.
ByKelan SarsonJun 12, 2024