Enzo Maresca makes ‘difficult’ admission involving six Leicester City players as duo set for injury return

The Leicester City boss intends to rotate his six wide players, with Abdul Fatawu and Yunus Akgun still adjusting to the tempo of Championship football.

Enzo Maresca has conceded that having six wingers competing for two slots is “not easy” to handle, with the Leicester City manager planning to distribute minutes among his widemen this season.

Kasey McAteer, Stephy Mavididi, Wanya Marcal, Marc Albrighton, and Yunus Akgun have all started at least once in City’s eight games across all competitions, while Abdul Fatawu has appeared as a substitute in the last two games. Maresca has stated that he will rotate to keep everyone interested.

 

McAteer and Mavididi have started the most games so far, with both scoring on Friday night at Southampton, but competition from Yunus and Fatawu will intensify as they acclimatize to life in England. They are still getting used to the tempo of Championship game at the moment.

 

 

“It’s not easy,” Maresca remarked of his winger management. “Wanya is probably getting fewer minutes now.” He’s playing for the Under-21s, but not because he’s horrible for us. “We aim to share minutes among our several wingers. Hopefully, we won’t sustain any injuries, but if we do, it’s important to have options and to use them.

 

“The only thing I can say is that Stephy, Yunus, and Abdul are probably not 100 percent fit when they arrive here.” Yunus came in a different nation at a different pace. After three or four days, he stated that the pace here is radically different from that of Turkey.

“Exactly the same, Abdul. In June, he played 90 minutes for the final time. He hit the post against Hull City, so you can tell he has something special. He lost some balls the other day, but you can see that he is quite dangerous in one-on-ones. To improve, he must take small steps. Hopefully, we’ll have all of them 100% shortly and can make a decision.”

 

Marcal played for City’s Under-21s against Burnley at Seagrave on Friday night, as Maresca said, while the first team was in Southampton. Albrighton, on the other hand, appears to be at the bottom of the pecking order, with the title-winning winger not even making the bench in the last two games.