The Leicester fanbase is a demanding lot. They have strong feelings and they do have a strange way of benchmarking different aspects. Some say discussing football is the most harmless discussion to have and it is all about opinions.
The striker position is one very tricky to evaluate. This was a topic for a journalist interviewing Marti Cifuentes in front of the game vs. Birmingham. Leicester at the moment having strikers not scoring. Patson Daka and Jordan Ayew are the two competing for that position at the moment.
Fans believe they have the answer to every problem. But often they overlook the support needed for a striker to have success. The man up front needs a certain service, if not, he will not score goals.
At the moment Leicester do have a more severe problem to solve to give that front man the correct service. They strongly need a box to box midfielder who can operate in this position as it should be. The Leicester midfield are not set up perfectly as the players to Marti Cifuentes disposal are not having the attributes and talent to play in these roles, then it all becomes difficult.
To judge Patson Daka you cannot really be taken seriously if you judge him on his last 40 games, scoring only 1 goal. You need to look at the minutes played. Then you will see that his stats are far from the problem.
Patson Daka will stretch the opponents defence and make his runs. He works well when coming on. Of course, during these periods, Leicester are more of a defending side. They are already having the lead or trying to get something out of it. You will not really bother much about the striker at that point.
🇬🇭 Jordan Ayew vs Birmingham in Leicester City's 2-0 victory, 🔥
— Premier Bet Ghana (@PremierBetGH) August 30, 2025
He played:
90 minutes ⏰
38 Touches ⚽
72% Accurate passes 🅿️
1 Dribbled past ⛹️ pic.twitter.com/rpx6L7cjes
Leicester is in need of a quality box to box midfielder. Josh Brownhill would have been the perfect addition. He would have stretched the midfield area and done the runs needed to upset the opponent. Still no sign of a move for Brownhill anywhere. Brownhill is a perfect player for the Championship. The stats shows that and he is an expert on promotions, that is why he is needed.
Leicester have allready sent him an offer, but with other clubs also interested in his services, we must wait. Leicester also need a defensive anchor in midfield. A tackler and passer of the ball that can do this perfectly. Wilfred Ndidi was the preferred player in the past. Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks and Bouba Soumare are not perfect defensive midfielders. None of them have really operated in that defined role long term.
To be the box to box midfielder, you need to run. You need to battle. You must be pacy on long and short distances. You also need a motor. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was perfect in this role, no one has taken his job since leaving Leicester. Bilal El Khannouss can operate as the offensive choice in midfield. As we said earlier, he is a wanderer. He operates more as a free man. He often finds himself in areas he should not be.
Stephy Mavididi, Jeremy Monga and Abdul Fatawu are flanks and they seldom wander, attacking their opponent and dong their thing. Would have loved to see them all together up front, building an understanding rotating and floating, not being static at the flanks and having a static forward around them.
We just have to wait and see what Marti Cifuentes will do, hopefully nothing regarding the front men, using all his energy to get a strong box to box man into the side. A growing understanding and playing together will set Leicester up to become a strong contender for a promotion place.
Patson Daka has never got a chance to excel at Leicester. Daka has not been able to out compete Jamie Vardy as the main striker at the club. During his time around, Vardy was the one playing as the main striker.
At the moment Jordan Ayew is the preferred choice up front, and by our judgement of the game vs. Birmingham, he did the job he was set to do perfectly. He also showed great work ethic. There was a clear understanding in his role up front. We did see him trying to make space. However, Skipp, Soumare, or Page seldom never came into those areas opening up. The flank men are seldom seeking those rooms either.
Playing Patson Daka will stretch the defensive line of the opponent with his fast running. The midfielders must come after for support. They need to be there to help Daka when he makes his run. He often operates up front with major gaps to the midfield and Leicester seldom benefit from his work.
When you make a priority, Leicester heavily need a box to box midfielder. This player should run more than the current unit. They must have the ability to set up the triangles in all settings. This is crucial for positioning in the 4-3-3 structure, depending on the pass as the best movement of the ball.
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