Leicester and Premier League, get ready for Dennis Praet
- By Kaustubh Pandey (@Kaus_Pandey17)
The 24-year-old has been one of the most consistent players for the blucerchiati over the last two seasons and its no surprise that Arsenal have been scouting him over the last few months. The Gunners were linked with a move for the former Anderlecht man last summer, but that too never materialised. It now seems as though a move to Leicester City is on the horizon.
This past season, Praet improved as a player. Its crucial to note that he still hasn’t yet arrived at the peak of his powers because of this improvement in recent months.
As a youngster, Praet had offers from bigger clubs and Arsenal themselves offered him a trial. He chose Anderlecht because the then teenager refused to get carried away by money. He was seen as Belgium’s next star back in the day and could soon break into the senior national side, with the likes of Axel Witsel and Mousa Dembele not getting any younger. Both Marouane Fellaini and Radja Nainggolan have already announced his international retirement.
The way he’s grown this season just proves that those days might not be too far indeed. After Lucas Torreira’s departure to the Emirates last summer, Praet had more time on the ball than usual and that has benefited him.
The presence of Albin Ekdal in defensive midfield allowed Sampdoria more time on the ball than it did before Torreira left. The former Hamburg man helped Praet and Karol Linetty get on the ball more. He’s a more cultured midfield player than Torreira was. And that has worked to Praet’s benefit.
The fact that Samp had more average possession this past season than the 2017-18 season shows the effect Ekdal has had. He keeps things simple. Instead of going direct to the forward players like Torreira still does at Arsenal, he can play the little passes around the players near him.
But Praet isn’t that sort of player. He will constantly look to unsettle the opposition with continuous marauding runs into their area. He often took up positions similar to that of a right midfielder because the 4-3-1-2 shape that Marco Giampaolo had in place doesn’t have traditional wingers. That allowed the two midfield players the freedom to go wide whenever they were on the ball.
This allowed Praet to sometimes control games and relentlessly run at the opposition from deeper areas. While he scored only twice and assisted thrice, he improved and his development has gone under the radar.
While he dribbled less than he did last season (from 1.8 dribbles per game to 1.1 dribbles per game), Praet has improved the number of key passes he plays in the final third. From 1.08, it has gone up to 1.10. His passing has improved from 84.4 percent to 87.3 percent.
He is more involved in the build-up because he sees more of the ball than he did with Torreira alongside him. More things going forward involve him than they did last season. That just shows that Praet would thrive more when he has the freedom to do things- when he is granted the space to do it.
At Leicester, Praet would have to start all over again. The Foxes already have a well-established trio of Wilfried Ndidi, James Maddison and Praet's former teammate Youri Tielemans. Brendan Rodgers has preferred a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 shape. The former Liverpool boss has essentially played three in midfield ever since he came and it is fair to say that the Foxes have a midfield that can easily play for a top-four club.
Where Praet fits into that is tough to know. Maddison is usually better player closer to a striker while Tielemans is better playing slightly deeper with Ndidi the destroyer who wins the ball back and circulates it forward. Praet would have easily started for Leicester in the positions that Maddison and Tielemans play in but he can't do it straight away.
He will bring something new to the plate though. He isn't as technically sound as Tielemans or Maddison but he is not Ndidi too. He is somewhere down the middle- a hybrid of them all who can do just about everything in midfield. He can tackle and intercept more than his Belgian teammate and the Englishman but not as much as Ndidi. He can create more than Ndidi but not as much as the other two. And he covers more ground that the any three of them too.
He will bring more thrust to the plate from deeper midfield. He won't pass like Tielemans would- he would dribble it forward and add an extra element to the Leicester attack. He can trackback and come forward with the ball continuously in a game.
To bring the best out of Praet, Leicester could well shift to a 4-4-2 diamond with the two Belgians behind Maddison and Ndidi sitting in front of the back four. But that seems unlikely with Rodgers preferring three in midfield. There is a reason why Giampaolo wanted him at Milan some weeks ago- Praet's engine allows him a very reliable right-sided midfielder in his 4-3-1-2 anywhere he goes.
Praet will have to fight for his place at the King Power- fight against players that are different to him.
But the fee that Leicester are paying for Samp could well turn out to be peanuts very soon. There is no doubt that Praet would eventually become very important for Leicester- like the other three midfielders in there and playing in the Premier League does increase the value of players incredibly. The blucercherati should already demand more than they have.