Steve Cooper heads into the first international break of the season knowing there is plenty of work to do if he is to keep Leicester City in the Premier League.
Leicester City have one point from their first three games, following up an opening day draw against Tottenham Hotspur with consecutive 2-1 defeats to Fulham and then Aston Villa.
There have been promising signs, with the fact Steve Cooper‘s side have managed to score in each of their first three Premier League games one cause for optimism.
Cooper was handed a difficult task in terms of winning over the Leicester faithful given his association with rivals Nottingham Forest, but the Welshman can do just that by beating the drop this season.
Now, one decision he has made could well be a massive help with achieving that objective as he has appeased a key player as well as improving the side in the process.
Wout Faes wanted Leicester City exit prior to Steve Cooper change
Reports emerged in the final week of the transfer window that star defender Wout Faes was exploring the possibility of leaving Leicester.
This would have been a huge blow to the Foxes, especially so late in the window.
Faes’ reasons were said to be two-fold. The first was that he had been left uninspired by Leicester’s summer business as they prepared for life in the Premier League.
The end to the window may well have gone some way to helping relieve those concerns with the £21 million arrival of exciting attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss and loan signing of Odsonne Edouard.
The other concern related to his position, with Faes having lined up at left-centre back in a back three against Fulham; something the Belgian was unhappy with.
Ideally, Faes wants to play at right centre-back but he certainly does not want to play on the left of a three.
Cooper knew how vital it was to not only keep Faes at the club but also ensure the 26-year-old was fully bought into what Leicester are trying to do.
Therefore, the Foxes boss brought in £12 million summer signing Caleb Okoli for Jannik Vestergaard and shifted Faes to right centre-back in a back four against Aston Villa, with Okoli playing to his left.
Caleb Okoli and Faes have makings of decent Leicester City partnership
Leicetser may have lost to Villa but they gave a decent account of themselves against Champions League opposition.
Faes immediately looked more comfortable on the right and with a partner in Okoli who looks as though he will relish the physical side of the game in the Premier League.
One of the biggest flaws with Vestergaard is his alarming lack of pace and, with Faes not being the quickest, this makes Leicester vulnerable.
Okoli has no such struggles in that department, meaning he could be the perfect partner for Faes moving forward and thanks to Cooper’s tweak that will now be possible.
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