Leicester City 2023/24

New energy at the King Power Stadium

Enzo Maresca replaced interim manager Dean Smith at the end of 2022-23 and already carries an air of elite quality.

Identified as a future star by Guardiola, the former Italy youth international moved to the Etihad Stadium in 2020 to take charge of Manchester City’s development squad. He was an immediate success, winning the Premier League 2 title in his debut season, and, after a brief stint at Parma, was promoted to assistant manager of the senior City team in 2022.

The season that followed was a spectacular success for Manchester City as they claimed a stunning Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble, with Maresca a key member of the backroom staff throughout.

And now, having learnt from the very best, the Italian will look to implement his Guardiola-inspired ideas at the King Power Stadium.

While there will be subtle variations to Manchester City’s style, Maresca will field a 4-3-3 formation that becomes a 3-2-5 when attacking, with wingers staying wide to stretch the opposition and two midfielders pushing forward to exploit the spaces either side of the striker. Behind them, one full-back inverts, pushing into midfield to protect against counter attacks, while the other tucks in alongside the centre-backs to form a solid, three-man backline.

His possession-heavy, high-pressing style produces intense pressure intended to exhaust and overwhelm opponents – the same approach used by both Guardiola and another of his protégés, Mikel Arteta of Arsenal.

If Maresca can make that style work in the second tier, the rest of the Championship could be in for a shock.

New faces and a returning key man

Losing key men such as James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Jonny Evans, Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu is a blow but the club has gone about building a promotion-ready squad ideally suited to Maresca’s game plan.

Recruiting a goalkeeper as good with his feet as with his hands was essential and the arrival of Mads Hermansen will be key to the new system. The former Brondy stopper is a fine passer and the perfect profile for Maresca. At just 23, he boasts experience not only at first-choice in the Danish top-flight but also has a Europa League group-stage campaign under his belt.

Ahead of him, England international centre-back Conor Coady brings defensive nous and leadership quality and alongside Coady, Callum Doyle arrives on loan from Manchester City. Despite being 19, the ball-playing defender has already played a key role at two EFL promotion attempts, helping Sunderland win the League One playoffs in 2021-22 and helping Coventry reach the Championship play-off final last term. The Euro U19-winner was also part of Maresca’s Premier League 2-winning squad in 2021 so already knows the Italian’s system inside out.

In midfield, Harry Winks is arguably the shrewdest acquisition of the summer. Though he struggled under two counter-attacking managers at Tottenham, the Champions League finalist is perfectly suited to a possession-based approach, with his precise, high-volume passing helping move the opposition midfield out of shape to create spaces.

Winger Stephy Mavididi is the signing that will most excite supporters, with the former England youth-team player bringing flair, assists and goals, while the importance of James Justin’s return from injury cannot be overstated, either. The versatile full-back missed all of last season due to injury and adds depth and international quality to a variety of positions.

Encouraging early signs

Leicester’s first two matches of 2023-24 saw them claim a 2-1 victory against old rivals Coventry City in the M69 derby before a comfortable 2-0 success at Burton in the Carabao Cup.

Supporters will have expected wins in both games but neither were straightforward assignments given Coventry reached the Championship play-off final last term while a midweek trip to League One Burton had plenty of banana-skin potential.

And while Maresca will have been delighted to claim three Championship points and a place in the second round of the Carabao Cup, he will have been just as happy to see how quickly the Leicester players are picking up his methods.

The Foxes were not perfect against Coventry and conceded the opening goal. However, they improved as the game wore on and the fact that Maresca’s methods eventually enabled Leicester to break down a resilient Sky Blues defence can only have increased his players’ confidence in the system.

These remain early steps on the road to a complete transformation in style so supporters should expect some setbacks as the players adapt. But if Leicester can keep picking up points during that process, that will only Serve to build confidence and make Maresca’s men all the more formidable once the system is fully instilled within the squad.

Great expectations

Despite the disappointment of relegation last season and slew of big-name departures, Leicester rightly go into the 2023-24 as favourites for the Championship title.

A well-targeted transfer policy has addressed squad weaknesses and an exciting managerial appointment looks set to offer thrilling performances as well as points aplenty for the King Power faithful.

Given the level of squad turnover and change in playing philosophy, however, it would be unrealistic to expect an utterly seamless transition. Players will take time to take on instructions and the relentless nature of the Championship will mean that Leicester will occasionally get punished during  an off day.

But the early indications are extremely promising and supporters need look no further than last season’s Championship winners for inspiration if the going gets tough.

Burnley endured a very similar summer to Leicester in 2022, suffering relegation and the loss of key men before bringing in an attack-minded, Guardiola-inspired manager to transform their playing style. Vincent Kompany did not get off to a fast start, either, winning only one of his first five league games as Burnley manager and after his Clarets won just four of their first 12 Championship games of 2022-23, many wrote off their promotion chances during a season of transition.

However, the Championship is a marathon, not a sprint, and eventually it clicked for Kompany’s men – they romped to a 101-point haul en route back to the Premier League.

Leicester will be looking at that performance for inspiration. And, after enjoying a winning start to 2023-24, the Foxes will be confident of making Maresca the latest breakout star from the Guardiola stable.

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