The next position battle focuses on Leicester City's central midfield, where it would appear that Nigel Pearson has considerable depth to select from.
3. Matty James v. Danny Drinkwater
The position battle in the centre of midfield is
likely to extend further than just these two players – throw Neil Danns, Andy
King and Richie Wellens into the mix, and you have five more capable first-team
starters. With Wellens sidelined until
September or October after suffering an injury to his cruciate knee ligament,
Nigel Pearson is likely to rotate his central midfield players to keep them
fresh throughout the season - but it'll certainly be
interesting to see who gets the nod more often out of these two former Manchester United youngsters.
Matty James and Danny Drinkwater were both signed
by Nigel Pearson, which makes it difficult to conclude who the manager would
prefer to start. Pre-season will have
been telling for Pearson, but Drinkwater did make nineteen starts for Leicester after signing from Barnsley in January this year, and made a
notable contribution during the final four months of the Foxes' Championship
campaign. Matty James, like Drinkwater,
began his career at Manchester United, however he has received limited first-team
football to date (James spent two loan spells at Preston North End in 2010 and
2011). However, a few years ago, the
same also applied to Tom Cleverley, and he played a big part in Leicester 's promotion back to the Championship and
has since played more regularly for Manchester United while impressing during
the Olympics for Team GB.
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| ©
eschipul, Flickr Can Matty James have the same impact for the Foxes as Tom Cleverley did three years ago? |
Likely winner: While the midfield is likely to be
rotated on a regular basis by Nigel Pearson, Danny Drinkwater is will probably start more matches in the middle than Matty James this season, especially at the beginning of
the season with Richie Wellens injured. That
being said, James' versatility also allows him to play in defence, which means
that he could provide cover at the back.
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