Maresca has outstanding Ndidi replacement

While relegation from the Premier League can result in a hangover, especially at the start of the season, Leicester City have got over theirs pretty quickly.

The Foxes are enjoying life back in the Championship and are the only club in the division to have a 100% record intact following victories over Coventry City, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and Rotherham United.

A key pattern has formed across their opening four matches and that is their ability to grind out results despite not being at their best.

Leicester have won each of their matches so far by a one-goal margin but given the quality at their disposal, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before their attack explodes into life, and Hull City will be hoping it isn’t against them on Saturday.

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Having made an impact in City’s last two wins as a substitute, on loan Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei was rewarded with his first start of the season against Tranmere in the cup, and he certainly stamped his mark on proceedings.

The 20-year-old put in an impressive display, showcasing his ability to unlock defences by providing the assist for Wilfred Ndidi’s second-half strike.

This performance has earmarked him as a potential starter against Hull as Leicester rested a whole host of key personnel on Tuesday night, including Kasey McAteer, Jannik Vestegaard, Mads Hermansen and Kelechi Iheanacho.

While Enzo Maresca is likely to shuffle that quartet back into the starting XI against Hull, the performance of defensive midfielder Hamza Choudhury has provided Maresca with a selection headache.

After anchoring the midfield with Harry Winks for the most part and excelling in the areas he is known for, making slide tackles, intercepting play between the lines and blocking shots, Choudhury could have forced his way into Maresca’s reckoning.

Will Hamza Choudhury start against Hull City?

During Leicester’s final three campaigns in the Premier League, Choudhury only managed 16 appearances and last season he enjoyed a productive loan spell at Watford, featuring 36 times in the Championship.

The 25-year-old, who was once described as “outstanding” by former manager Brendan Rodgers, still has a lot to give at this level and under the guidance of the Italian, can quickly become an important figure at the heart of the Foxes midfield.

With regular opportunities, the tackling machine and excellent interceptor can offer Leicester something different to the technically astute Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Harry Winks and Casadei.

More importantly, however, he could come into the team at the expense of the aforementioned Ndidi, who would no doubt have been distracted by recent speculation surrounding a potential move to Nottingham Forest before the transfer deadline last night.

During his spell at the Hornets last season, Choudhury excelled at the base of their midfield, as Ndidi has throughout the years for the Foxes, and he reined in the plaudits for his ability to sniff out danger, stop the opposition in their tracks and manoeuvre possession to the explosive Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr.

When compared to his positional peers in the 2022/23 Championship season, Choudhury excelled defensively, ranking in the top 1% for interceptions per 90 (2.40), top 3% for tackles per 90 (3.20) and the top 11% for shots blocked (0.53) while his ability to progress possession shouldn’t be understated, finishing in the top 13% for pass completion (82.9%), as per FBref.

While these stats are perhaps an inclination that Watford faced more attacks than Leicester would, there is no doubt that Maresca’s side have been missing the bite of Choudhury in their midfield.

The former England U21 international would help reinforce their engine room with more steel and provide the Foxes with an opportunity to keep more clean sheets, having conceded in three of their four league matches so far.

For all of their technicians and attacking flair, it’s just as important to have a player who can complement their attacking prowess with an ability to win the ball back and give it to those players higher up the pitch.

This was a point that has been echoed previously by current Hull manager Liam Rosenior. During his time working as a pundit for Sky Sports, he covered the England U21’s European Championships in 2019 and heaped praise on Choudhury during this tournament.

He said: “He’s been absolutely outstanding at this all season, he’s someone who I first really enjoyed watching at Burton on loan and I didn’t know if he was going to break into Leicester’s team but credit to Claude Peul, credit Brendan Rodgers, I love seeing young players get chances and he is so important to this England team because they have nobody else there to win the ball back.”

“You look at Manchester City when Fernandinho is out of the team, they’re not the same team. Those ball-winning midfield players who can dictate the ball and make passes into forward areas are crucial. Choudhury has that role.”

If Choudhury can reach the ceiling that his formative years promised, then Leicester can quickly forget about Ndidi and unleash their midfield beast onto the rest of the Championship.