Leicester City have performed well in the Championship and seem destined to return to the Premier League immediately. After being relegated with Brendon Rodgers as head coach and relegated, Dean Smith took his place after they were relegated last season, but failed to retain their Premier League status.
Naturally, Leicester lost some key players in the summer, with James Maddison joining Tottenham Hotspur for €46.3 million, Xavi Barnes moving to Newcastle for €44 million, Timothy Castagne joining Fulham for €13 million, and Youri Tielemans, Chaglaar Soyenku and Jonny Evans on free transfers. Leicester have made smart recruitment, with Harry Winks and Conor Cody replacing experienced departing players. Stefi Mavedidi and Maz Hermansson have excelled since their arrival and they have the potential to do so, but the best signing of the summer is new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Enzo Maresca: Pep Guardiola's influence is visible in the former assistant coach
Maresca has had a transformative impact on Leicester – particularly their style of play – and the Italian deserves a lot of credit, especially in the tough circumstances of being appointed after relegation. The 43-year-old coach went on to become a coach after winning the Serie A title with Juventus and two Europa League Cups with Sevilla during an impressive career. Maresca spent some time on the coaching staff at Sevilla and West Ham before making a name for himself at Manchester City. He won the Premier League 2 title during his time in charge of Manchester City's Under-21s before taking charge of Parma in 2021 but was sacked less than six months after an unsuccessful start to Serie A B before returning to City the following year.
Although Maresca's coaching experience at Parma has been met with some doubts – his win percentage is just 2857% - But he is still highly respected by the city group and became an assistant to Guardiola after returning to England. Pep Guardiola's impact was evident as Maresca adopted a patient, possession-based style of play, with Leicester often in control. They have scored the most goals (64), conceded the fewest goals (23) and averaged possession per game (61.) in the Championship7%). However, a handful of fans have been criticised for Leicester's style of play, arguing that Maresca's tactics can be boring at times, while Maresca has surprisingly claimed that he will resign if supporters are not happy with their 3-1 win over Swansea City.
You can feel the support of the fans, but you can also feel their dissatisfaction. "There may be some people who take certain things for granted." But that's not the case. With 26 wins in 34 races, that's an incredible result. Maybe when you win game after game at home and keep winning, people think it's easy. But that's not the case. I came to this club to fulfill this philosophy. Once I had some doubts about the idea, I would leave the next day. It's so clear. No doubt. We've got 26 wins out of 34 games, which is a huge number. If people think it's easy, take it for granted, that's not the case. A lot of respect for the players and the efforts they have made. Hopefully we can bring the right joy to our fans at the end of the season." ”
Ahead of today's face against Watford, Leicester are nine points clear of Southampton and top of the Championship, although the Saints have one game to play. Leicester's impressive performance lies in the fact that they are on track to break the record for the highest points in Championship history. Reading's title winning side in the 2005-06 season currently hold that record, when they amassed 106 points, but Leicester could potentially overtake them. Maresca's team averaged 24 points, higher than Reading's 23 points, and if their performance maintains their current pace, then they will end their 46 games with 110 points.
Leicester City's star performer in the Championship
Several players have excelled under Maresca, but Kernan Duesbury-Hall is undoubtedly Leicester's star performer. The 25-year-old midfielder plays an important role in midfield and his performances are by no means inferior to those of the Premier League, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford among his well-known admirers. Duesbury Hall has been outstanding on both ends of the pitch, contributing 10 goals and 10 assists under Maresca. Mavididi cashed in on his undoubted potential after joining from Montpellier for €10 million, scoring ten goals. The 25-year-old, who made his mark in Arsenal's youth system, joined Juventus in 2018 and has the ability to excel in the Premier League. Walter Fass, Ricardo Pereira and James Justin have been excellent defensively and they are some of the best parts of Leicester's defence. Although veteran striker Jamie Vardy lost his status as a regular striker in the team, he remained at the club and he scored 10 goals in 22 appearances.