With 15 matches played in the Championship, Leicester City sit 11 points clear of third place. A position any Leicester City fan would have snatched your hand off for at the start of the season. Enzo ball is well and truly lighting up the league, but despite the fantastic start, is there still room for improvement? Of course there is.
With 39 points from 15 games, there’s no denying that Leicester City are in top form. Yes, even after a defeat to Leeds United last week. Whilst some of the media would have you believe Leeds were all over Leicester, it simply wasn’t the case. They had a game plan. They knew how to stop us. They took their chance. And we couldn’t score. 66% possession ended with 10 shots and only 1 on target. Leeds for their 34% possession managed 11 shots, 6 on target and 1 goal.
The issue up front for Leicester is one of the main areas that needs to be looked at. The January transfer window is coming up, but before that we have the return of Tom Cannon. Brought on Deadline Day from Everton, we’re yet to see Cannon play for City due to injury, BUT that could all change this weekend.
Maresca has said that Cannon is back in training and there’s talk he could feature this weekend against Middlesbrough. Unlikely to start, we can expect to see some light minutes from Cannon as he gets back to full match fitness.
Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho both have their different strengths. Neither of them fully fit Enzo’s style of play, in fact he’s said if he could merge them into one he’d have the complete striker… if only that were possible. 9 goals between them this season isn’t to be sniffed at, but we’re definitely missing that clinical finish and danger in the box. Highlighted even more after games like that against Leeds.
So, what can we expect from Tom Cannon? Here’s a lowdown on the Leicester new boy:
1. Cannon is a product of Everton’s youth academy, having signed for the club at just 10 years old. He made a huge impact in the youth team scoring 51 goals in 97 appearances, including goals against some of the best academy teams in the world, such as PSG and Man City.
2. He spent the second half of last season on loan in the Championship at Preston North End, where he scored 8 goals in 20 appearances.
3. During his time at Preston, it wasn’t just his goals that impressed but also his overall impact on the squad and his work rate. Teammate Ryan Ledson commented,“Tom Cannon has been absolutely brilliant. He’s a credit to himself and Everton Football Club. Since the second he’s come through the door, he’s worked hard, got his head down, and he’s a nice kid. He’s 20 years of age, has the world at his feet, and all he needs to do is focus on himself and scoring goals because he can go wherever he wants to be.”
4. Is he an out and out number 9? Well suited to Enzo’s style of play, Cannon is clever at exploiting space so can get into positions to give himself a head-start on defenders. His finishing is ruthless and his past goals have featured top corner screamers as well as poacher tap-ins.
Take a look below at all of his goals in the Championship for Preston last season.
5. He’s only 20. Leicester snapped Cannon up on a 5 year contract, and at such a young age there could be a fantastic future ahead.
With Cannon now back in training it’s only a matter of time before we see him in match action, and it’s an exciting prospect for Leicester City fans to see what we have to add to an already fantastic side.
Words by Jack Hodges / Cool As Leicester
Are you a big Leicester City or Leicester Tigers fan who would be interested in writing for Cool As Leicester this season? Get in touch with us on [email protected].